The Misses Become Medames: The Secret Marriage of Former Miss Argentina and Former Miss Puerto Rico


    Amidst the sea of appalling anti-LGBTQ laws enacted throughout these years, there has been one positive story that has stuck with me. The marriage of the former beauty queens, Fabiola Valentín and Mariana Varela show that coming out and expressing love should be on the couple's own terms.


 According to CNN, the couple “...met at the 2020 Miss Grand International competition in Thailand. After making it to the pageant top 10, the two beauty queens appeared to remain close friends on social media. What fans didn’t know is they were secretly dating the whole time.” They got married in Puerto Rico, who accepted same-sex marriage because of Obergefell v. Hodges. Although it is sad that they had to keep quiet, it allowed them to make the executive decision to marry for themselves instead of the press or fans to force it. 


   In a joint Instagram reel from both women, the caption reads, "Después de decidir mantener en privacidad nuestra relación, les abrimos las puertas en un día especial. 28/10/22 ❤️💍✨ | Instagram" Which roughly translates to, "After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day." 




Alongside this Instagram Reel was the song “Lugar Seguro” meaning “Safe Place.” Some lyrics are “No eres la primera pero sí mi único amor/ Y cuando te siento lejos es como un zapato sin su otro par/Porque para mí eres todo/ Tú mi carretera que parece hogar” meaning “You are not the first but you are my only love/And when I feel you far away it's like a shoe without its other pair/Because for me you are everything/You my road that looks like home.”


The use of song and using Instagram Reels to recount their love and marriage is a touching detail for this post. I think of all the stereotypes surrounding queer love as “forbidden” or “tragic” and they all momentarily fade away when I think of Valentín and Varela’s marriage. The response to this has been mostly positive, though that could be because of comment filters. However, their bravery to share their love and the benefits of having nondiscriminatory legislation for queer couples makes me hopeful for other queer couples in the space of social media.





Sources


CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/americas/miss-argentina-puerto-rico-married-cec/index.html 


NBC:

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/nbc-out-proud/former-miss-argentina-ex-miss-puerto-rico-reveal-are-married-rcna55269 


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