[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Miss USA Cheslie Kryst made an impact on so many people, and now one of her fellow pageant queens is paying tribute to her.
Speaking to People about her dear friend, Miss Utah Rachel Slawson opened up about the great loss she has only just begun to grapple with. As Perezcious readers know, the Miss USA 2019 winner tragically died by suicide on Sunday in New York City. She was just 30 years old. Slawson reflected:
“Cheslie changed my life.”
We cannot imagine how sad it must be to lose a mentor so suddenly.
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Speaking on behalf of her other competitors and friends, the 26-year-old continued:
“Our whole class is completely devastated. I think everyone’s in shock.”
Cheslie and Rachel first became friends in June 2020 when they connected during an Instagram Live chat about pride and mental health. At the time, Slawson, the pageant’s first openly bisexual contestant, was Miss Utah while Kryst was Miss USA.
Thinking back to that live stream, Slawson is struck by how passionate Cheslie was about wanting “to help amplify” the importance of mental health issues, something that wasn’t usually “talked about in pageantry.” As a teenager, Rachel survived two suicide attempts. She wanted to use her pageant platform to be an advocate for LGBTQ youth who face similar challenges, and Kryst was always there to cheer her on, she recalled:
“I was so anxious in the months leading up to Miss USA. I was struggling with really bad depression at the time, and I was really in my head. I just kept thinking, ‘The Miss USA organization is never going to want someone like me who struggles with mental illness.’”
To help calm Rachel, the attorney and social justice advocate got candid with her friend:
“She told me, ‘Rachel, I’ve struggled too.’”
Kryst went on to applaud Slawson for sharing her story with the world because it was “making an impact.” This wasn’t the only way Kryst went above and beyond to support the younger woman in her pageantry journey — she encouraged her to be the first woman to wear pants at the Miss USA pageant, Rachel noted:
“She just reminded me that I had nothing to be afraid of.”
At the event, the Extra correspondent was still by her side and was supportive of the model’s decision to speak publicly about her queer identity, the writer explained:
“She took me aside to have a little conversation about that before the final crowning night. I didn’t end up winning, but it was still really comforting to know that she was there.”
The last time the duo spoke was around three months ago when they texted in hopes of meeting up in NYC. It’s unclear if they got the chance to catch up in person.
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Opening up further about her grieving process, Rachel added on Instagram:
“Cheslie was a role model to every young woman who competed for the title of Miss USA. We all aspired to be like her, and everyone of us had a unique connection to her, some from a distance and some from up close. We all have a right to mourn the loss of that connection in our own unique way.”
We are sending love to all those mourning the loss of Kryst! She was such an inspiring woman! R.I.P.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
[Image via Cheslie Kryst/Rachel Slawson/Instagram]
The post Cheslie Kryst 'Changed My Life': First Openly Bisexual Contestant Rachel Slawson Reflects On Miss USA's Support appeared first on Perez Hilton.