A former Miss Argentina and an ex-Miss Puerto Rico announced on Instagram over the weekend that they are married.
In a joint post shared to both their accounts, Mariana Varela of Argentina and Fabiola Valentín of Puerto Rico wrote, “After deciding to keep our relationship private, we now open our doors to a special day.” The message included what appeared to be their wedding date, Oct. 28, along with heart and ring emojis.
The video included in their post features a montage of them traveling, their candlelit marriage proposal and a kiss outside a courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Varela, 26, and Valentín, 22, appear to have met last March, when they competed in the Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand. In an Instagram photo of the two women embracing that Valentín posted the following week, she wrote: “One of the great gifts in this experience was your friendship, walking this process with you was a special and real one. I miss you, my girl @marianajvarela.”
Neither woman took home the top prize in the competition, but they both made it to the top 10.
Since connecting last year, they have spent time traveling together and even dropped subtle hints of their love on social media by posting a few photos throughout the past 18 months before making their public announcement.
Neither Varela nor Valentín immediately responded to NBC News’ requests for comment.
In just three days, the video announcing their union amassed more than 116,000 likes and 2.6 million views on Instagram. The comment section also quickly filled up with support from fans and fellow pageant queens.
Miss Grand International 2019 Valentina Figuera wrote, “Congratulations beauties, God bless your union and long live love!!!!” And Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2017 Danna Hernández commented, “Beautiful couple congratulations and blessings on your marriage!!!
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Puerto Rico since 2015 as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. It is also legal in much of Latin America, including Varela’s home country of Argentina. And, just last week, same-sex marriage officially became legal in all of Mexico’s states.
