Nelson Morales

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ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777367507717catriona.png" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="633" alt="Catriona Gray/Instagram"/>Catriona Gray/Instagram </div>Catriona Gray opened up about the pressure of surpassing her historic Miss Universe win for the Philippines as she reminded listeners of their podcast to take the time to celebrate their wins, no matter how small.In the latest episode of her <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/pageants-beauty-queens/2026/4/8/-equipping-season-catriona-gray-and-nicole-cordoves-share-why-you-shouldn-t-dread-being-single-1730">&quot;2 Steps Back&quot; podcast with fellow beauty queen Nicole Cordoves</a>, Gray spoke of having a &quot;sinking feeling&quot; whenever she is asked about what she would do next, despite pursuing different projects years after her Miss Universe reign.&quot;It kind of makes me feel like kahit anong project na meron ako, kahit anong ganap, I&#x27;m still going to forever be asked, &#x27;So what&#x27;s next?&#x27; And Miss Universe is always at the end of the questions. Kahit meron akong music, meron akong projects, it&#x27;s always what&#x27;s next after Miss Universe,&quot; she said. &quot;So I&#x27;m really trying to dissect it -- is the pressure coming from myself because maybe I&#x27;m just interpreting their very normal question into something that gives me pressure? Or is it something that they&#x27;re really asking with pressure or with expectation?&quot; she added. At one point, Gray felt that whatever she tried to do &quot;will never meet the height or the bigness of a Miss Universe win.&quot; She recalled asking herself: &quot;Should I be striving to add something else to that? Do I need another title, not in terms of pageantry but like something that is internationally recognizable and super visible?&quot;But instead of giving in to the pressure, Gray decided to keep moving at her own pace and carve her own path. &quot;I want to live my own life and not live in the shadow of one achievement,&quot; she declared.<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/To6q6s_gm3I?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>After winning the Miss Universe crown, Gray continued to showcase her creativity and love for Filipino culture by releasing <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/health-beauty-fashion/2026/4/16/catriona-gray-collaborates-with-ni-ofranco-for-artisan-driven-fashion-collection-1335">capsule collections in partnership with fashion and home brands.</a>She recently marked her <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2026/1/30/this-national-arts-month-2026-catriona-gray-encourages-filipinos-to-keep-creating-1636">seventh year as an ambassador for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.</a>On top of this, Gray has also been using her wide social media reach for good, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/pageants-beauty-queens/2026/1/5/catriona-gray-hosts-birthday-fundraiser-for-5th-year-1510">working with charities that help kids</a> and poor communities in the Philippines.Career-wise, she has explored music, hosting and, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/1/22/catriona-gray-calls-first-film-role-exciting-and-challenging-1455">most recently, acting</a>. Sharing her thoughts about trying different things after a major achievement, Gray said: &quot;It&#x27;s hard because in the public eye, people consider me accomplished or that I peaked in something already. So there&#x27;s that expectation that everything else that I do needs to be at that level. And so to continue to try and know that you&#x27;re going to be seen in your attempts is a really scary thought.&quot;&quot;But I think we should always continue to try because we learn something out of the failure if it doesn&#x27;t work out. There&#x27;s always something to be gained from the experience,&quot; she stressed.Gray went on to assure their podcast listeners that while it is good to strive for something, it is also perfectly valid to &quot;be okay where you are.&quot;&quot;If you&#x27;re at a place in your life and you don&#x27;t necessarily have any goals or things to aim for next for yourself, that&#x27;s kind of normal. For certain seasons of your life, especially if you&#x27;ve reached a certain thing, it&#x27;s okay to celebrate that, to remain there, and to look back,&quot; she said. &quot;Revisit yourself on what you truly like and what fills your cup and what you actually find joy in... Coming back to your internal compass of values and what you genuinely like is a good place to start,&quot; she ended.

Catriona Gray opened up about the pressure of surpassing her historic Miss Universe win for the Philippines as she reminded listeners of their podcast to take the time to celebrate their wins, no matter how small.

Catriona Gray opened up about the pressure of surpassing her historic Miss Universe win for the Philippines as she reminded listeners of their podcast to take the time to celebrate their wins, no matter how small.

'What's next?' Catriona Gray opens up about stepping out of Miss Universe shadow

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'What's next?' Catriona Gray opens up about stepping out of Miss Universe shadow

ABS-CBN News

Published April 28, 2026 05:13 PM PHT

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Catriona Gray

Miss Universe

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Nicole Cordoves

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