Two beauty queens have announced they are married after keeping their relationship secret for two years.
Former Miss Argentina Mariana Varela, 26 and former Miss Puerto Rico Fabiola Valentín, 22, revealed they tied the knot on October 28.
The two met at Miss Grand International (MGI) 2020 but have kept the relationship secret since then.
Argentina made same-sex marriage legal in 2010, and Puerto Rico made it legal in 2015.
Mariana represented Argentina at the 2019 Miss Universe contest and ended up in the top 10 of MGI 2020 the following year.
Fabiola also reached the final 10 of the MGI competition that year, representing Puerto Rico.
Fabiola said on social media: “After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day. 10/28/22.”
The happy couple shared images of their romantic proposal, wedding and honeymoon period after first meeting at MGI in 2020 where they both made the final 10.
The models’ adoring followers wished them well in the comments section, with one Instagram user writing: “The best that Miss Grand has given us!”
“Omg congratulations MGI brought together a beautiful union,” commented another.
Someone else said: “Congratulations! May they be very very happy.”
“Beautiful couple. Congratulations and blessings on your marriage!”
“Congratulations ladies!” remarked another.
The pair have over 100,000 Instagram followers each.
Mariana thanked everyone for their kind words of support: “Thanks for all the love! We are very happy and blessed. I wish you that the love you are giving us is multiplied! Infinite thanks.”
Beauty pagents have been in the news recently but not for such heart warming reasons.
A beauty pageant turned ugly in New York when a brawl erupted between contestants at an after party.
In a now-viral video, a melee erupts as a mob of well-dressed men and women lay into each other after NYC's first ever Miss Sri Lanka beauty pageant.
The motive for the fight at the The Vanderbilt in South Beach, which is home to a large Sri Lankan population, is currently unknown.
Sujani Fernando, one of the organisers, said none of the contestants were involved in the brawl.
She said all 14 were inside the building as the fight erupted outside.
In 2021, a similar scuffle broke out at a top pageant in Sri Lanka.
The reigning beauty queen had to be handcuffed after she snatched the crown from her rival's head.
She claimed her competitor shouldn't have won, and should've been disqualified because she was divorced.
But the organiser said that social media users have blamed the scuffle on an inaccurate Sri Lankan stereotype, calling the ruck "just a fight".
“Sri Lankans are good people,” she said.
“It’s just a fight — fights happen, kids fight. That happens in any culture, any nationality, it doesn’t have to be Sri Lankans.
"We’re not that type of people.”
