Miss Philippines Sends Message to Miss Colombia: 'We Are Now Bonded'

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the crowned 2015 Miss Universe, posted a message of gratitude on Instagram, which also included a note praising first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez, Miss Colombia.

“To Ariadna, you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience,” Wurtzbach wrote on the official Miss Universe Instagram. “In the last 3 weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honor and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead.” The “unique experience” Wurtzbach is referring to is, of course, pageant host Steve Harvey’s embarrassing flub during the event when he mistakenly announced Gutierrez as the winner.

Wurtzbach also had a message for the haters. “Please let’s all stop now,” she wrote. “The Miss Universe Organization is about uniting empowered women from all over the world. Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats the whole purpose. You believe in the message of Miss Universe and so do I.”

The message comes after Gutierrez’s own Instagram post in which she congratulated Miss Philippines while describing her “destiny” as being able to “bring happiness to my country after becoming Miss Universe for only a couple of minutes.”

Wurtzbach ended her message saying she was “excited” to begin her duties as Miss Universe. BTW, is she going to pass that Instagram handle onto next year’s winner?