Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who tragically jumped to her death from a Midtown high-rise Sunday morning, penned a heart-rending essay last year about the challenges of growing old, nearly working herself to death and being sent “vomit emojis” by online trolls.
Kryst, a 30-year-old lawyer who won the 2019 pageant, jumped from her luxury 60-story Orion building at 350 W. 42nd St. around 7:15 a.m. and was found dead in the street below, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The ex-Miss North Carolina left behind a note saying she wanted to leave everything to her mother, a former pageant competitor herself who was crowned Mrs. North Carolina in 2002.
Shortly before she jumped, Kryst posted a cryptic message on her Instagram page, writing, “May this day bring you rest and peace.”
But in March 2021, she provided insight into her mindset in a lengthy essay in Allure.
“Each time I say ‘I’m turning 30,’ I cringe a little. Sometimes I can successfully mask this uncomfortable response with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting,” Cheslie Kryst wrote.
“Society has never been kind to those growing old, especially women. (Occasional exceptions are made for some of the rich and a few of the famous.),” she continued.
Kryst noted that when she was crowned Miss USA at age 28, she was the oldest woman in history to win the title, “a designation even the sparkling $200,000 pearl and diamond Mikimoto crown could barely brighten for some diehard pageant fans who immediately began to petition for the age limit to be lowered.
“A grinning, crinkly-eyed glance at my achievements thus far makes me giddy about laying the groundwork for more, but turning 30 feels like a cold reminder that I’m running out of time to matter in society’s eyes — and it’s infuriating,” she wrote.
“I fought this fight before and it’s the battle I’m currently fighting with 30,” she wrote. “How do I shake society’s unwavering norms when I’m facing the relentless tick of time? It’s the age-old question: What happens when ‘immovable’ meets ‘unstoppable?’”
“I joined a trial team at school and won a national championship. I competed in moot court; won essay competitions; and earned local, regional, and national executive board positions,” Kryst wrote.
“I nearly worked myself to death, literally, until an eight day stint in a local hospital sparked the development of a new perspective,” she wrote.
“I discovered that the world’s most important question, especially when asked repeatedly and answered frankly, is: why? Why earn more achievements just to collect another win? Why pursue another plaque or medal or line item on my resume if it’s for vanity’s sake, rather than out of passion? Why work so hard to capture the dreams I’ve been taught by society to want when I continue to only find emptiness?” the ExtraTV reporter continued.
“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.
