MANILA -- Sandra Seifert admitted that she used to be worried about what other people would say when she unexpectedly got pregnant.

In an interview with the entertainment website Pep, the former beauty queen said she feared being "criticized for being pregnant before marriage," especially since she was active in ministry work in the Philippines.

"I dreaded the judgment of others -- admittedly it was a tough period -- especially because a lot of young women looked up to me as a source of inspiration," she said. "I didn't want to disappoint them, but I also didn't want them to think what I did was okay."

"At the same time, I am also only human, and when we are in love, a lot of times we are blinded and act more based on emotion rather than rationality."

Seifert represented the Philippines in the Miss Earth pageant back in 2009. She won the Miss Earth-Air title.

Now 36 years old, she lives a quiet life as a hands-on single mom to her three-year-old son, Corinth Ian, and as an entrepreneur.

"Since Corinth is a child born out of love, and one of my favorite chapters in the Bible that defines love is 1 Corinthians 13, I thought it was perfect," she said of her son's name.

"His dad gave him his middle name 'Ian' so his name is actually Corinth Ian," she went on, not giving details about the father of her child.

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Seifert said she decided to raise Corinth without a nanny "because I want to be there every step of the way as he grows up."

She acknowledged that she cannot be a "father figure" to her son despite her efforts, which have also affected the growth of her food and fashion ventures.

"He only sees his father once in a while, so I didn't want him to end up seeing his mother only once in a while either," she said.

"Admittedly, this has affected the pace at which I had hoped to grow my companies as I would normally want to scale business much quicker, but I had to learn to be patient and grow it slowly instead," she added.

Nevertheless, the former beauty queen said motherhood has changed her significantly, and has "made me appreciate my mother much more."

"It has also taught me how to multi-task, made me less selfish, more patient, more humble, more mature, and shaped me into a more inspired and highly motivated woman because everything I do now is ultimately for my son," she said.