Mrs Gibraltar journey helps Demi Ambrosio ‘find yourself again’

For Mrs Gibraltar contestant N3, Ms Demi Ambrosio, the pageant has been about much more than taking part in a competition. 

She describes the experience as “absolutely brilliant”, saying it has given her new friendships, lifelong memories and, most importantly, the confidence to find herself again. 

For Ms Ambrosio, taking part has also been a return to something she had once enjoyed before becoming a mother at a young age and putting that part of her life aside. 

Her journey also fulfilled a promise she made to her late father after she suffered serious injuries in an accident which prevented her from walking for a long time. 

During that difficult period, Ambrosio promised him that she would walk again and that she would one day do so on a catwalk. 

That promise has remained important to her, making her participation in Mrs Gibraltar particularly meaningful. 

She becomes emotional when recalling those moments but believes her father would be proud of her today. 

“For me, it's not been a contest,” she says. “It is much more.” 

“If I could, I'll do it again.” 

Her interest in modelling and pageantry had been there for years, but becoming a mother at 17 meant that she stepped away from it. “I've always liked modelling,” she says. 

“I've always been in the pageantry side, but when I became a mum at the age of 17, I stepped back. And my daughter won Little Miss Princess this year". 

"And because I pushed her so much, I thought, why not go for it yourself? Do something for yourself and go back into it.” 

Seeing her daughter take part in pageantry helped encourage Ambrosio to consider doing something for herself as well. 

The decision has since given her an opportunity to reconnect with an interest she had previously put aside, while also giving her time to focus on herself. 

The pageant has also given Ms Ambrosio an opportunity to spend time on herself after years of putting other responsibilities first. 

“I found myself, I found my confidence. I found time for myself.” 

That time for herself has become an important part of the experience, particularly because she says she had not previously made enough time for it. 

“I've managed to find time for myself again daily, which makes a big difference with your mental health.” 

“In general, it helps you so much as a person.” 

“This (pageant) has given me that push, completely, and confidence.” 

For Ms Ambrosio, the impact of the experience is not limited to the pageant itself. She says it has changed the way she thinks about her daily routine and what she wants to do with her time in the future. 

The experience has also changed how she sees her life beyond the pageant. 

“I don't want to go back to the old routine of what I was doing daily." 

"I already told everyone at home that I would be finding a hobby or two, and keeping up with seeing the girls, maybe for coffee, and going out more, and doing more for myself.” 

The friendships she has made during the pageant are also something she wants to maintain after the competition comes to an end. 

For Ms Ambrosio, continuing to see the women she has met, while making time for hobbies and doing more for herself, is part of the change she wants to carry into her everyday life. 

That's her message to other women: “If you've lost yourself on the way, find yourself again, because it's inside you somewhere. It's never gone.” 

“So, if you can, push yourself some way or the other, and find yourself, because it's worth it.” 

Ms Ambrosio is a mother of two, with an 17-year-old daughter and a younger child who will turn seven in the coming days. 

Her experience of motherhood, her earlier interest in pageantry and the challenges she faced following her accident have all formed part of the journey that brought her to Mrs Gibraltar. 

With family milestones approaching alongside the Mrs Gibraltar pageant, she says the experience has nevertheless left her feeling like a different woman. 

She sees herself as a better version of the person she once was, “because I see things differently now.”