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Adè van Heerden talks about the highs and lows of being Miss SA

Johannesburg – The Miss South Africa pageant is around the corner, which means that our current queen, Adè van Heerden, will have to hand over her crown to another young woman as her reign comes to an end.  

Catching up with Adè at an event held at the Turfontein Racecourse on Monday, The Juice asked the beauty queen what her journey as Miss South Africa has been like, including what she had found most difficult to deal with.  

Speaking about what has been the best part of her reign, Adè says she really enjoys the impact she is able to make in the lives of young girls through her Instagram account.  

“I get to connect with young girls, not only in South Africa, but across the whole world. I spend a lot of time, I reply to each and every DM because I know that that’s the way I can make an impact.” 

While her new-found stardom means that many expect her to be perfect all the time, Adè says she can be herself on the social media platform: “I can be a real girl on Instagram. You will see me sweaty in the gym, you will see me without makeup, you’ll see me on bad days. And I try to be as transparent as possible because it’s so important to be a genuine role model."

She adds:  "In society it’s so easy to always be dressed up and show your highlight reel, but when you share those difficult moments, young girls realise that it’s okay to struggle and we’re not all perfect, and if she can do it then so can I.” 

As far as the most difficult part of her journey, the beauty queen says that constantly being judged by society’s standards of beauty was not easy at first.

“If I have to be 100 percent honest, I’m not a beauty queen by nature, I’m a doctor, I’m a lieutenant. So coming into the beauty world and constantly being judged on how beautiful you are was tough in the beginning. I just needed to shift my perspective and say: 'That’s what all women go through, this is just more in the spotlight.' The way that I handle this and the way that I keep staying true to myself is so important because it sets the example.” 

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