'Love is my main career': Miss Vietnam Mai Phuong Thuy

Miss Vietnam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy. Photo from Thuy's Facebook

"Love is almost everything to me," the beauty queen told VnExpress. "I don't aspire for a glittering career or to achieve awards, I just want a beautiful love."

Calling it her "main career," Thuy said romantic matters now completely dominate her life, and things that she spent a lot of time on in the past - including family, work, and studies - temporarily take a backseat. Therefore, her biggest wish for the new year is to have more time for love.

When asked about her marriage plans, Thuy said if she gets married, she will keep it a secret due to her shy and privacy-oriented nature, which makes her not know how to go public with it.

At 36, Thuy says she has nothing to worry about regarding age.

"I love to have fun, so I always actively do what I consider positive," she said. "I always do what I like with concentration in order not to let worries or stress shake my spirit."

Reflecting on all the years that have gone by, Thuy said she thinks more maturely and feels more emotionally stable now that she is stepping into middle age. For example, whenever she encountered health problems in the past, she would think she had a serious illness in a paranoid way, but now, looking back, she finds it funny.

Another thing that has changed in her life is that she liked to make bold statements a few years ago when she first entered the finance industry by investing. However, she now feels it is no longer necessary.

Because of that, the beauty queen said she never wants to return to her youth.

"I prefer the current version of Mai Phuong Thuy, who does not worry about the future and lives only for the present," she confessed.

Sharing her personal development orientation for the new year, Thuy said various aspects in her life - from her health, her life attitudes, to her relationships - have been improved. She thus has only one goal in this year:

"In 2024, I just want to focus on love."

Thuy started her career in the entertainment industry as a model before her attendance in the 2006 Miss Vietnam contest.

She maintained her modeling career and tried acting after her coronation, but started to appear less in roles and do more as a social activist and financial investor in recent years.