Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
By the age of 30, Cheslie Kryst accomplished more than most people dream of, becoming a civil litigation executive, an Emmy-nominated correspondent for Extra TV, and the winner of the 2019 events pageant.
On Sunday morning, Kryst took her own life by jumping off the 29th floor of the Orion condo building in midtown new-york-city” target=”_blank”>Manhattan<
Kryst appeared well aware of the facade that social media can create and encouraged her followers not to get wrapped up in the glamour that is frequently displayed online.
“My Instagram is my highlight reel and I want to look my best while I share a look at my life, my fun, and the body I’m proud of. But that’s all it is. A fine-tuned glimpse into a moment in time,” Kryst wrote last summer in a caption on Instagram, where she had more than half a million followers.
“Don’t allow what you see on here make you forget that I’m incredibly flawed; I simply chose not to share those flaws in a photo.”
Kryst became the oldest woman to ever become Miss USA when she won the pageant at the age of 28 in 2019.
“It was a history-making moment to crown someone so inspiring,” Summers said. “But it was also a moment of kind of relief, because we all know that with a lot of love comes hate.”
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Kryst reflected on those challenges last year in an article for Allure magazine about turning 30 and defying traditional pageantry standards.
“My challenge of the status quo certainly caught the attention of the trolls, and I can’t tell you how many times I have deleted comments on my social media pages that had vomit emojis and insults telling me I wasn’t pretty enough to be Miss USA or that my muscular build was actually a ‘man body,’” she wrote.
Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst visits BuzzFeed’s "AM To DM" on Feb. 28, 2020, in New York City.
(Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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Kryst’s family said in a statement after her death that she “embodied love and served others.”
“Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength. She cared, she loved, she laughed and she shined,” her family said.
