Pageant analysts often mention the names of Michelle Dee (Makati), Celeste Cortesi (Pasay City) and Katrina Llegado (Taguig) as among the top contenders in the much-awaited Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Grand Coronation Night to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena on April 30.
While the three lovely finalists are being pitted against each other, they're BFFs in real life and they admit to have gotten very close during the MUPH pageant activities. This prompted some fans to call them the 'Holy Trinity.'
In an interview at Aqua Boracay for the MUPH 2022 swimsuit preliminaries, Michelle, Katrina and Celeste were quick to admit that they got close because of their common experiences. They don't deny the fact that among the candidates, they are the ones with the most experience competing in international pageants.
Celeste said they're like sisters. Katrina, on the other hand, noted that one reason for their closeness is their personalities "just clicked."
"We hang around a lot. We talk a lot whenever there's a downtime in the shoots. We share experiences and we keep each other updated about happenings," added Katrina who placed 5th runner-up in the 2019 Reina Hispanoamericana held in Bolivia.
Michelle said "a lot of people expect intense rivalry among us, but it's also true that good friendships can happen. Pageantry is also about women helping each other."
The three beauties may be good friends, but they admitted they have different approaches to bashing that involves them in social media.
Celeste said she does not read any posts at all and has even deactivated her Instagram to safeguard her mental health. She added that she needs complete peace as she prepares for the pageant.
Katrina agreed with Celeste and revealed that she does not read comments. She said she has assigned her core team to handle monitoring of social media.
Michelle said she is very much different from Celeste and Katrina, since she loves constructive criticism. "I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I always want to know the feedback from people."