The incumbent Miss Belgium beauty queen was seriously injured in a car crash just days ahead of the event in which she was due to hand over the crown to her successorsuccess.
Chayenne Van Aarle, 23, crashed her Volvo into a truck on the E17 near the Kruibeke exit as she was heading home to Antwerp on Tuesday, 7th February.
Police spokesperson Jonathan Pfund, told local media: “There was an accident between a car and a lorry at around 1.30pm at the tail of congestion the E17. The driver of the car got stuck in her vehicle. She had to be freed. The woman was taken to a hospital.”
The stunning brunette reportedly failed to notice the traffic jam that had built up on the busy motorway.
It took firefighters half an hour to free her from the demolished vehicle.
Cheyenne suffered several internal injuries. She was unconscious but doctors at Antwerp’s ZNA Middelheim clinic managed to stabilise her condition.
Her boyfriend, 43-year-old record producer Nicolas Geniets, told local media: “She suffered many injuries but her life is not at risk. The surgeons had to remove glass from her neck.”
Nicolas added: “The injuries to her face and her body are serious. She had to be stitched close to her eye. Her lungs have been hurt and she suffered several other internal injuries. But the doctors ensured that she was now in a stable condition.
“I was already able to speak to her. She can’t remember anything. Thankfully, she is optimistic. She told me: ‘I’m a warrior, I survive anything.'”
Opening up about her relationship with Nicolas – who is 20 years older than her – Chayenne said earlier this year: “You cannot make plans about falling in love. I’ve had three relationships before. All of my ex-boyfriends were several years older than me.”
Cheyenne was due to attend this year’s Miss Belgium contest set to take place this Saturday.
She was on her way from the Westminster music studio in the town of Waasmunster, where Nicolas was working.
The car she was driving – a Volvo V40 she took over from 2019 Miss Belgium Elena Castro Suarez – is a write-off. Footage emerging on local media seen by Newsflah show as the wreckage – which bears a Miss 2019 sticker – is hauled off the motorway.
Darline Devos – who is in charge of organising the upcoming 2023 Miss Belgium contest – revealed she was considering several changes to the show.
Darline said: “Chayenne was due to open the show with her song. An interview about her childhood and the performance of another song were planned too.
“Chayenne would have done brilliantly. She speaks fluent French and Dutch. Chayenne is born for the stage.
“We are all in a state of shock and seriously affected by the news.”
The show manager ruled out a rescheduling of the event. She explained: “Postponing the contest is impossible, I’m afraid. The other candidates and their agents must be considered as well.”
Chayenne – a former stewardess – was named Miss Belgium on 26th March 2022. Shortly after winning the title, she admitted: “I’m in shock. A childhood dream has come true.”
On the website of the 2023 Miss Universe competition – which will take place in El Salvador later this year – Chayenne is described as “a passionate singer, actor, host, and fan of all things in showbiz.”
“She has a degree in public relations and specialized as a wedding planner. In her career as a flight attendant, she visited much of the world. Van Aarle is passionate about motivating young people, and started her first campaign against body shaming with her first song #Selfmade.
“In her childhood, her family adopted many abused and abandoned animals including camels, zebras, and kangaroos, as they have a special love of animals.
“Her family is multicultural; her mother is French, her older brother and sister are from the Netherlands, and her two youngest brothers are half Congolese.
“Van Aarle works to be a bright sun in other people’s lives.”
