Gabrielle Henry Addresses Her Future in Pageant World amid Lawsuit with Miss Universe (Exclusive)

Tabitha ParentMon, September 28, 2026 at 1:16 PM UTC

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Gabrielle Henry.Credit: Courtesy Miss Universe Jamaica -

Gabrielle Henry suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling during the Miss Universe prelims while representing Jamaica

She has filed a lawsuit against the Miss Universe Organization, alleging negligence led to her life-altering injuries

Henry tells PEOPLE her recovery is ongoing and she has not ruled out a future return to pageantry

Gabrielle Henry’s time in the pageant world was unexpectedly cut short when the 30-year-old fell from the stage at last year’s Miss Universe prelims while she was there representing her home country of Jamaica.It quickly became clear that the injuries that Henry had sustained from the fall were much more serious than initially reported. Ultimately, the queen suffered a traumatic brain injury with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, frontal lobe hemorrhagic contusion, and subdural hemorrhage that required her to be hospitalized from Nov. 19 to Dec. 10, 2025.Her recovery did not end there, however.

Gabrielle Henry.Credit: officialgabriellehenry/Instagram

Over the last 10 months, the pageant queen’s life has been on pause as she learned to contend with the reality of her new normal. As she wrote earlier this week in an op-ed for PEOPLE, “It was as if I had just been born and was learning my basic bodily functions for the very first time.” In addition to finally speaking out on the incident, Henry also filed a lawsuit against the Miss Universe Organization pageant, alleging that negligence had led to her fall from the stage.The lawsuit claims Henry, an ophthalmologist, suffered severe brain injuries, preventing her from continuing her medical residency, among other losses of earning capacity and professional opportunities associated with her medical career.Speaking with PEOPLE after the lawsuit was announced, Henry shares what led to her decision to take action against the Miss Universe Organization and whether she believes she has a future in pageantry.

For Henry, the question of whether she will return to a pageant stage anytime soon is not one she can answer — “right now.”“I think it’s something that’s really at the back of my mind because I am still going through that ongoing process of recovery and of truly healing outside, but on the inside as well,” she tells PEOPLE. “And I think even sharing with [PEOPLE] is a part of that healing journey; sharing with individuals is a part of the healing journey.”Henry points to her own start in pageantry, acknowledging that she does still see the “role” it plays in the world.

“I still think it’s a wonderful platform regarding the organization, and I will continue to advocate for other ladies who are desirous of entering,” she says.“Some ladies are just so shy, but the truth is that I started all that way as well. I was extremely shy, very introverted, very scared to share what I was thinking, and I really think that pageantry helped me step out of my comfort zone, out of that box,” she adds.She calls pageantry a “beautiful journey,” adding that “all women should feel confident in entering and just taking upon themselves the opportunity of growth and of blossoming into who they truly are.”As for the question of whether she’ll return to a pageant, she says, “I will address that question at a later date, for sure.”However, she emphasizes the power of the sisterhood that she gained from her time competing in the pageant world. She remains in contact with “quite a few” of the women she made friends with during her time at Miss Universe, including Malique Bowe, Miss Universe Bahamas 2025.

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Miss Universe Jamaica Gabrielle Henry 2025.Credit: Dacx Productions

“They’ve also been quite empathetic,” she says. “I remember during my hospitalization, I got quite a few messages, and I would try and respond as quickly as I could, but they were all very concerned.”In the aftermath of her initial fall, Henry recounts feeling like she was “in denial” about her injury.“I’m the kind of person who takes everything one day at a time,” she tells PEOPLE. “And also with my background and my exposure to medicine, for me, it was not so much registering the recovery period, but more so registering that what had happened to me actually happened to me because I know how extreme and severe it is.”She adds that she couldn’t comprehend how the fall could have happened. “How could that happen on a stage where I was expected to showcase my best, to represent my country and somehow have it followed up with an injury that was so critical that it was life-threatening,” she remembers thinking.

In an op-ed for PEOPLE earlier this week, Henry said that her recovery “has not been easy,” nor is it “over.”

Part of her recovery was learning to be “truly gracious” with herself.“I had to remind myself that I was learning how to slow down and give my body a chance to recall its former abilities,” she added. “In the process, I also learned that I could achieve even more than I was capable of before.”

on People

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Source: “AOL Breaking”