When beauty queens Michelle Dee and Anntonia Porsild discovered their shared passions—their fight for their advocacies, modern take on feminism, and penchant for anything fashion—they slowly built a fascinating friendship that got their countries in a frenzy
This is an excerpt from MEGA’s March 2024 cover story.
The Philippines and Thailand have long been allies. In fact, in February 2024, we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between Philippines and Thailand. To begin with, many of our personal values and belief systems align; our countries are replete with spots made for adventures; and we have a love affair with food. Michelle and Anntonia knew all these. But they didn’t actually feel their commonalities the first moment they met.
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During this shoot, and as the hours go by, it easily becomes clear why they naturally rhyme. In front of the camera, they are professional models who command their bodies and facial expressions to follow an artistic concept. Then, there’s a little bit of teasing and helping each other climb up ladders and stand still in cold pool water. Then, they banter—a lot.
“How did this friendship begin?” Anntonia recalls. She laughs even before uttering the next words. “I was standing in line waiting to check in for Miss Universe registration, and I just saw Miss Philippines walk through the door as if she were the owner of the place, wearing her shades indoors.”
The sun is beginning to set now, and the two queens, or more like soul friends, sit beside each other for this interview, with no less energy than when we met them this morning. Michelle leans on Anntonia’s shoulders casually as she shakes her head, listening to the latter’s “version” of the story.
Anntonia continues, looking at her seatmate, “Well, I can’t even give you crap for the shades anymore because I do that, as well. Now, I understand it. Anyway, the first reaction I had when I saw her was that she was kind of distant. I tried to approach her, and then she kind of brushed me off.”
“No, you did not approach me,” Michelle interjects, taking her attention away from her seemingly busy phone.
“Yes, I did,” Anntonia loudly disagrees. “Anyway, fast-forward, so we sat next to each other on the bus one day, and she had moved her bag for me to sit on the seat next to her. And then, she introduced me to this herbal inhaler. Then, we just started talking. Eventually, we talked about how our fan clubs are always fighting, and we didn’t want them to think that just because they’re fighting it’s going to create conflict between the pageant queens. We just came up with this idea to show them—to lead by example—the power of unity.”
Michelle, for this topic at least, agrees with her newfound friend. “When we first took our photos, it was really to promote unity, to show our fans that we both are actually friends,” Michelle explains. “On a wider perspective, it’s like showing the world that while pageantry is a competition—because at the end of the day, there’s only one winner—essentially, it’s really a sisterhood, where you want to help each other grow.”
Shifting into a lighter tone, Michelle gives her “side” of the story. “Okay, now, my version of meeting Anntonia,” she says, as the other woman rolls her eyes. “It’s the same moment, but, number one, I didn’t see Anntonia, Miss Thailand, greet Miss Philippines when she arrived. That whole day, she was Miss Congeniality, greeting everybody in the lobby except Miss Philippines.
As we had expected, Antonnia interrupts her: “I didn’t see you the first day. I was talking about the registration.”
“I know, I know, but that was my first memory,” Michells goes on. “I was like, ‘Oh, Miss Thailand said hello to everybody, but not Miss Philippines.’ In that exact moment, when I walked in, I saw Miss Thailand stressed beyond comprehension because she was trying to fit in this dress. When it’s registration, it’s actually very hectic. You’re jumping from one station to the other. I was trying to get into the dressing room, but she was blocking the way. I kind of looked up, and it was Anntonia, looking at me with a straight face. I said, ‘Oh, hi.’ Essentially, I think we were all stressed. But when the time actually came that we had the opportunity to talk, well, I mean, this banter that you hear now comes very naturally. I think that’s because of our upbringing also and just the people that we had around us.”
“It’s not serious, the banters,” Anntonia nods.
“But in the first half of the competition, we never really got the chance to talk because we were never assigned to the same activity, until rehearsals started,” Michelle says.
Their growing friendship and natural chemistry did not escape the prying eyes of both fans and the curious public. Eventually, as these things naturally go, the citizens of social media began teasing them, implying a relationship that goes beyond platonic. In fact, their portmanteau and hashtag #PorDee went viral. Michelle and Anntonia gave their biggest smiles today at the mention of this subject.
“We were the ones that created PorDee!” Anntonia says with obvious pride in her voice. “It was a hashtag that we created with a photo that we posted.”
“Then, our supporters started calling us mommy and daddy,” Michelle chimes in. “I don’t know where that came from.”
“We just thought that because the fans were having fun, why not jump along on that train, so that they can get involved and kind of feel excited with the journey that we’re having at the competition, as well?” Anntonia recalls fondly.
Turning a tiny bit serious, Michelle adds, “It spoke volumes because instead of them focusing on bashing us, they actually focused on this friendship that was flourishing, and all of the bashing and negativity stopped. And the friendship, obviously, is very authentic. It’s genuine. It’s nice—even after Miss Universe, people still believe that we stand for unity and they like seeing that.”
The relationship they have is proof that when used right, women’s platforms can veer away from cattiness, gossip, and vile competition. Instead, they can amplify voices and strengthen friendships, even between countries.
Read more about how passion, purpose, and advocacy makes Michelle Dee and Anntonia Porsild a powerful duo in MEGA’s March 2024 issue, now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photography DOOKIE DUCAY. Creative Direction PATRICK TY. Styling RYUJI SHIOMITSU. Beauty Direction AGOO AZCUNA-BENGZON. Art Direction BRIE VENTURA. Production JONES PALTENG. Sittings Editor PEEWEE REYES-ISIDRO. Makeup DAVE QUIAMBAO (Michelle) and GERY PENASO (Anntonia). Hair JECK AGUILAR (Michelle) and NELLY SEBOY (Anntonia). Nails EXTRAORDINAIL. Fashion Assistants BITHIA REYES, KURT ABONAL, and SHAIRA ABRAHAM. Photography Assistants MARK CATUNGA and BYRON DE GUZMAN. Hair Assistant ROMMEL HERMOSO. Shot on Location at NOBU HOTEL, CITY OF DREAMS MANILA. Special thanks to ROMINA GERVACIO of CITY OF DREAMS MANILA, CAPT. STANLEY NG and ALVIN MIRANDA of PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, JOSE GUILAS and JOY ANDRADE of HILTON HOTEL NEWPORT MANILA, MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES, and TPN GLOBAL
