How our girl is taking over world
Demi’s trainer applied methods used by top countries in pageants
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters took residence of her new posh apartment yesterday overlooking the Central Park in Manhattan, New York, after her famous win as Miss Universe 2017.
Nel-Peters became the second South African to snatch the crown on Monday morning (SA time).
As she settles into the New York high society and embarks on a hectic media tour that includes a stopover at Good Morning America breakfast show, her runner-up Adé van Heerden prepares to step into her stilettoes as the new Miss SA tomorrow morning. Van Heerden, a medical doctor in the SA army, made top 10 of Miss World earlier this month in China.
The rules of the contest dictate that should Miss SA assume the role of Miss World or Miss Universe, the first princess moves up to become the new queen, and so Boipelo Mabe from Alexandra becomes the new first runner-up.
Meanwhile, by yesterday afternoon the celebrations by Team SA that accompanied Nel-Peters were still ongoing in Las Vegas. Her coach Werner Wessels said they partied in Nel-Peters’s suite at Planet Hollywood, where there was an incredible spread of drinks and food as they basked in the moment.
He said the South Africans in the audience were cheering like they were at the FNB Stadium.
“We haven’t slept yet. The adrenaline is still going. My phone has been flooded with messages. Demi-Leigh’s phone crashed, it just died, it couldn’ t handle everything that was happening and the messages.”
Wessels said it was “super-special” to see his protege shine on the universal stage.
Speaking to Sowetan from Las Vegas, he credited Nel-Peters for her “strength, determination and self assurance”.
“I have never seen such a hard-working and committed 22-year-old. I told her that you have to be different, than just being beautiful. She made it easy to work with her,” Wessels said.
He said his training programme included methods that are used in countries like Philippines, US and Australia, which accentuate the strengths and positives of a contestant.
The results speak for themselves – former Miss SA and Miss World 2015 Rolene Strauss is a graduate of his training.
“I hope this win will unite us. We need positivity and hope. We need to rally around something. Here we have a global ambassador who’s going to travel the world doing great deeds ...
“For the beauty industry I hope this shows what pageants are about. That it’s not just outer beauty ... Demi is 22, she’s the type of woman I would like my daughters to look up to one day.”