Not everyone knows what’s going on behind closed doors. A recent occurrence that exemplifies this reality is the death of Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, that passed away due to suicide in January. 

Her mother had expressed Kryst was facing a severe form of depression in her private life, which she totally hid from the outside world. 

Kryst had many amazing accomplishments in her life, both in pageantry and in other areas. She got into the world of beauty after winning the title of Miss Freshman at Northwest High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Kyrst was also very successful in education, earning several degrees and starting a law career, but she returned to pageantry after taking several years off. Cheslie was known as a beauty queen, lawyer, fashion blogger, and an Extra TV correspondent, but was most famous for winning the title of Miss USA in 2019. 

Hours before Kryst’s death, she shared a post on Instagram, the caption reading, “May this day bring you rest and peace ❤️.” It was reported that Kryst, at age 30, had jumped from the 29th floor of her Midtown apartment building in New York City Sunday morning, leaving many heartbroken by the sudden, unexpected news. 

It was shocking to see how happy Kryst portrayed her life online as very happy and positive contrasted with her personal life and tragic manner of death. As someone who looked up to her, I was heartbroken to see this unfortunate duality.

Depression comes in many forms. Many people look up to celebrities, including Kryst, as someone who appears to be perfect and have an intact life—but that’s not always the case. People portray an image that they want the world to see and believe, however each individual that is experiencing depression is often going through a soulsucking endeavor. Depression isn’t always obvious, and people go to great lengths to hide their symptoms and struggles from people around them, including the people they love. 

In addition, the beauty pageant industry can have a significant detrimental impact on participants, often put through tremendous pressure and scrutiny in a cutthroat world of competitive beauty.

Our exterior image doesn’t always reflect our inner image of ourselves, and how we truly feel on the inside. As we learn the devastating truth of Cheslie Kryst and the lengths of faking a smile, never let social media mislead you to believe that someone’s life is always sunshines and rainbows, because you’ll be disappointed when you come to find this is hardly ever the case.