‘Sayang ang lahi’: Pia Wurtzbach shares struggles as half-Pinay, why no baby yet with Jeremy Jauncey

MANILA, Philippines — In the hopes of “improving” their race, many Filipinos seek to marry an “afam” or a foreigner. 

But for Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, being half-Filipino and half-German is not all sunshine and roses.

When Pia ventured into pageantry, she encountered “sayang” statements because she was a half-breed.

“Nu’ng pageant naman, ang sabi nila, ‘Sayang, maganda sana kaso tisay! Tapos Wurtzbach pa ‘yung apelyido, Pilipino ba talaga ‘yan?” she shared at her manifesto for the recent “Sayang? No, I’m worth it” campaign launch of international beauty brand L’Oreal Paris in Intramuros, Manila.

“Sumali, natalo. Sumali na naman. Natalo na naman. Nu’ng pangatlong sali, sabi, ‘Naku, ayan na naman s’ya, ‘di pa ba s’ya napapagod? Maganda sana kaya lang, tumaba na s’ya ngayon. Tsaka ‘di naman talaga s’ya pure Pinay. Ikaw ba talaga ang ipapadala natin sa Miss Universe?”

While Pia was found to be “too tall” when she joined Binibining Pilipinas, she was found to be “short” when she was about to compete for Miss Universe.

“Sabi nila sayang kasi maliit daw ako. Tapos, laki daw nito (pointing at her bosoms), ‘di raw ako bagay maging beauty queen. Pang-artista lang daw ako,” she shared, earning some laughs from the audience.

When Pia married Scottish-Colombian travel and social media entrepreneur Jeremy Jauncey and they decided not to have a baby right away, the actress-beauty queen encountered a new set of “sayang” comments.

“Nu’ng kinasal naman ako, ‘Naku, kailan ka ba magkakaanak? Sayang ang lahi! Your biological clock is ticking,” Pia shared one comment.

Jeremy is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Instagram and Snapchat travel and lifestyle community Beautiful Destinations and as such, he and Pia are always on the go.

“Lagi kaming nag-tra-travel ni Jeremy so obviously, lagi kaming magkahiwalay, hindi kami magkasama,” Pia hinted at why she and Jeremy have not found time yet to have a child.

“Sa mga mata ng mga tao, ang mga babaeng nag-aasawa na, dapat nasa bahay na lang, lay low na sa career, slow down ka na. Tsaka asikasuhin mo ‘yung asawa mo. Sayang,” she narrated.

In a sit-down interview with Philstar.com and other select press after the program, Pia revealed