Miss Bulgaria Radost Todorova has taken to social media to express her love for Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach and the Philippines, as well as surprise over her gesture becoming a widespread meme, gmanetwork.com has reported.

On her Instagram account, Todorova has reposted a meme that named her as "that one friend who pushes you to stand up for that dream" with the caption, "I ? you... Pia."

The Bulgarian beauty queen has won hearts among Filipinos for her gesture of support for Miss Philippines at 2015 Miss Universe coronation ceremony, the Filipino media company said.

Radost has been called the "national best friend” after she cheered on Pia to go ahead to centerstage to claim the Miss Universe crown after the host mixed up the announcement of winners during the coronation night in Las Vegas on 20 December. The host mistakenly proclaimed Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the new Miss Universe winner while the title was supposed to go to Miss Philippines.

As Wurtzbach was standing on the stage looking shocked at the news that she had actually won, Todorova could be seen cheering enthusiastically in the background, sweeping her arms forward and mouthing "Go!" with a big smile on her face.

Wurtzbach saw the gesture and it spurred her to continue walking forward to accept the crown she had won.

The gesture has been noticed by Filipino netizens. "Even if we already know what to do, we always look for that one friend who will push us to do it. We all need a #?MissBulgaria in our lives," said Facebook user Ron Cruz, who posted screengrabs of the moment, according to gmanetwork.com.

Moved by the attention she is getting, Todorova said on Facebook "I love you Philippines!!! Thank you for your kindness."