Joyal Abraham: The Engineer Who Refused to Be Boxed In

For 16 to 17 years, Joyal Abraham has worked as an engineer, and she still holds a senior role in her organisation today. Yet that is only one part of her story. Joyal Abraham is also a certified therapist, a model, a tarot reader and a pageant titleholder. In 2025, she was crowned 1st Runner-Up in the Ravishing category at Mrs World International 2025 (Season 3).
In an online conversation with Nikhil Sharma, Chief Reporter of BalleBolly Magazine, she spoke about insecurity, second chances, manifestation and relationships. Throughout, one idea kept returning: life should not be lived inside a single label. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel like becoming an author,” she said. “So who is stopping it?”

A Childhood Dream, Held Back

Joyal comes from Kerala and describes her family as conservative. However, she grew up in North India. As a child, she dreamed of modelling and of seeing herself out in front.
Her parents always pushed her forward, but mainly in studies. In Kerala, she explained, the aspiration was a concrete profession, such as doctor or engineer. “They don’t understand this career,” she said, without any bitterness.
Growing up in the North also left a quieter mark. As a South Indian girl, she often felt that perhaps her skin tone did not fit. “Maybe I’m not that beautiful,” she remembers thinking. That insecurity stayed with her for years.

Joyal Abraham’s Hero’s Journey

Life then took a harder turn. Joyal went through a divorce, which she calls a social stigma for women, especially in traditional families. As a result, many stories pulled her back.
Her real transition came in 2017, after the divorce. “I felt there is only one life,” she said. “People will talk anyway.”
That same year, her pageant journey began for the first time. She cleared the first round, but then she met with an accident and could not continue. Years later, the opportunity returned. By then, she had moved from Delhi to Bangalore for work.
When the interviewer described her path as a hero’s journey, she agreed. “I underestimated myself at many points,” she admitted. In her view, a seed cannot survive when there is only negativity around it.

From Engineer to Therapist

Meanwhile, a second journey was already underway. Joyal had fallen in love with psychology. Alongside her engineering degree, she completed a certification in psychology. She first started as a coach during the COVID period.
Her reason was personal. During her own journey, she did not find the psychological support she needed. “I don’t want somebody else to go through that,” she said.
Today, she is associated with inticure, an online platform for relationship and sexual well-being. She stressed that it is not an NGO. According to her, the platform also has sleep specialists, lifestyle specialists and other psychologists.
She also believes men carry a heavy load. “We have been feeding them since childhood that you are strong, you cannot cry,” she said. Consequently, their emotions pile up with no place to vent.

Joyal Abraham at Mrs World International 2025

Mrs World International 2025 (Season 3) was held in Gurgaon in July 2025. Joyal says the decision to participate was purely hers. In fact, she did not take anyone from her family to the event.
The moment she came home remains her favourite memory. “My father said, ‘You’ve brought so much luggage. Have you filled it with stones?'” she recalled, laughing. “And it was actually a crown in my hand.”
The competition had several rounds, including a talent round and a walk. According to her, the field was filtered down to 150 contestants. She believes two things gave her an edge: her walk and her answer to one question. The question asked what challenges she had faced as a woman.

The Arjun Mantra

Fear was still present. Nevertheless, she had a strategy. “I consider myself as Arjun,” she said. Like Arjun aiming at the fish’s eye, she sees only the goal.
For that reason, she does not watch other contestants perform. Instead, she visualises success, much like athletes do. “I am here to win,” she would tell herself. Stage fear, she added, has never been a problem for her.

Manifestation and a Gratitude Book

Joyal says her mindset was once very weak and negative. Then she began manifesting deliberately. Every night, she writes in a gratitude book. She writes everything she wants, without a timeline, and thanks God as if it has already happened.
Her pageant, she says, was a manifestation too. Before the competition, she bought a crown online. Each day, before going to work, she wore it and acted as if she had already won. “It was surprising for me as well when it actually manifested,” she said.
Today, she no longer feels insecure. At fashion shows in the South, people walk up to her and call her beautiful. “The more you admire yourself, people start reflecting back the same thing,” she explained.

Joyal Abraham on Relationships and Marriage

Relationships are the subject she clearly loves most. These days, she is following the work of Drs John and Julie Gottman, the relationship researchers behind the Gottman Method.
For her, marriage is a personal choice, but companionship is not. “Human beings were never made to live alone,” she said. She also warned against hopping from one partner to the next. “If you keep changing partners, maybe the problem is in you.”
She sees phone-checking as a sign of insecurity rather than love. Similarly, she believes every healthy relationship needs boundaries. “You cannot possess another person,” she said. If she ever writes a book, relationships will be the topic.

Style, Sarees and Indian Craft

Styling, she says, is like her “second self”. She spends her weekends learning new skills, and right now that skill is styling.
She feels Indian winterwear often ignores Indian body types. For example, a V-neck or square neck may flatter a pear or hourglass shape more than a turtleneck. She also believes Indian crafts, such as Lucknow’s chikankari and bandhani, have not yet received full justice.
If she ever launches a clothing label, her thought process would be sustainability. Above all, sarees remain her first love. Recently, she walked through Bangalore airport in a saree, and several women stopped her to compliment the look. At Kochi Fashion Week, she even chose an Egyptian-inspired look.

Kochi, Films and the Road Ahead

Kochi is her second home, since most of her fashion shows happen there. She calls Kerala “truly God’s own country”.
Her Instagram growth has opened new doors as well. About a year and a half ago, she says, she had just around 200 followers. Now she connects with fashion league organisers, actors and even cricketers. She also receives requests from the South Indian film industry.
People often tell her she resembles Nayanthara. If films happen, though, she wants substantial roles rather than glamorous ones. Her favourite actor is Fahadh Faasil.

Joyal Abraham’s Message to BalleBolly Readers

Her first message is about dreams. “A dream should be one that doesn’t let you sleep,” she said. When the same nudge keeps returning, she sees it as a sign from the universe. “Start listening to that intuition.”
Her second message comes from the therapist in her. If you need support, never stop asking for help. “There is no shame in it,” she said.
From a girl who once believed she was not beautiful enough, Joyal Abraham has become proof that a second chance can become a crown.
— This article is based on BalleBolly Magazine’s video interview with Joyal Abraham, conducted by Nikhil Sharma, Chief Reporter, BalleBolly Magazine.