Mrs. World Winner Reflects on Representing Thailand After Miss Universe Scandals in Bangkok 2 Months Earlier (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• On Jan. 29, Chanita Seedaket Craythorne was crowned winner at this year’s Mrs. World pageant, a historic accomplishment for her home country of Thailand

• In November 2025, Thailand hosted Miss Universe, a month-long event that rocked the pageantry world with many scandals involving Thai pageant officials

• Craythorne tells PEOPLE that she doesn’t associate her recent win with what Miss Universe contestants claim to have experienced during the tumultuous competition

On Jan. 29, the Mrs. World organization crowned a new winner on stage in Las Vegas. Thailand’s delegate Chanita Seedaket Craythorne bested first and second runners-up from America and from Sri Lanka, marking the first time in 21 years that a Thai contestant has won the annual pageant.

Indeed, it’s a big comeback year for Thailand’s beauty queens, as the current reigning Miss World, Suchata Chuangsri, hails from the Southeast Asian country as well. This is only the second time that both Mrs. World and Miss World are from the same country; the coincidence last occurred in 2001, when both titleholders were from India.

Craythorne, 38, was born and raised in the Northeastern province of Khon Kaen, which is known to be the country’s fourth-largest city, and she currently lives about 45 minutes outside of Bangkok. Days after her historic win, she tells PEOPLE she couldn’t be prouder to represent her home on the international stage.

“It was an absolute honor to be carrying the sash of Thailand,” Craythorne reflects.

Months ago, the country was the backdrop for a series of scandals that broke through the pageantry bubble and made global, mainstream headlines. Thailand was the host country for Miss Universe in November 2025, and the month-long event kicked off with a viral confrontation between a Thai pageant executive and a contestant.

The live-streamed incident showed Nawat Itsaragrisil calling out Mexico’s Fátima Bosch — who was later crowned the winner of Miss Universe — for not meeting the expectation that contestants would “promote the host country.” Before addressing Bosch directly, he warned the room, “Be careful. You are in Thailand. You are in a game.”

The following weeks thrust the Thai pageant world under an unflattering spotlight, but Craythorne sees her win as separate from what happened months earlier.

“I think our platform, Mrs. World itself, is so different,” she explains. “It didn’t really affect how my goals or my determination were being executed.”

She emphasizes the fact that Mrs. World focuses on more than just the individual woman competing on stage. The organization generally places significant value on family and a woman’s continued potential after getting married and having kids.

Craythorne also notes that Thailand’s recent prominence in pageantry isn’t all negative. Even Miss Universe demonstrated “that in Thailand we have so many things that we have to offer,” she says.

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“We have amazing gowns, amazing tailors,” adds Craythorne. “We have amazing makeup artists that you can see that have done an amazing job in Miss Universe.”

In the spirit of national pride, Craythorne is looking forward to highlighting the many great things about her home country during her reign as Mrs. World. “We have a lot of different cultures and different destinations in Thailand that we’d really like for everyone in the world to explore,” she shares.

Read the original article on People