People react to Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico announcing they’ve secretly married: ‘Swooning’

Couple met while competing in Miss Grand International pageant in 2020

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Thursday 03 November 2022 11:07 EDT
Comments
Related: Looking Back on The History of Miss America Pageant

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A surprise wedding between former pageant contestants Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico has been met with an outpouring of support.

Mariana Varela, 26, and Fabiola Valentín, 22, who both competed in the Miss Grand International competition in 2020, revealed on Sunday that they had tied the knot over the weekend.

“After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day,” the couple wrote in a joint post in Spanish, along with the date of their nuptials and a heart and diamond ring emoji. The pageant queens met during the 2020 beauty pageant, which saw them both make it to the top 10, according to the New York Post.

In a video montage that accompanied the announcement, the couple shared sweet moments captured during their relationship, including of their engagement and their matching rings. In the final image, the couple could be seen dressed in white and standing on the steps of a courthouse.

On social media, the announcement has been met with an outpouring of congratulatory messages, with many sharing their well-wishes for the couple and their love story.

“Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico met at a pageant and are now married, I’ll cry THEY ARE SO CUTE,” one person tweeted alongside photos of the couple.

Another said: “Kind of obsessed with the fact that Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Argentina just revealed that they got secretly married after meeting for the first time at the pageant.”

“I’m sorry but Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico getting married is the coolest thing to happen for the entire year, nothing tops this, literally nothing,” someone else claimed.

The announcement also prompted a congratulatory message from fellow pageant queen Abena Akuaba, who was crowned Miss Grand International 2020 after competing as Miss Grand USA.

“Omg congratulations MGI brought together a beautiful union,” Akuaba wrote.

Samantha Bernardo, who represented the Philippines at the Miss Grand International 2020 competition, also shared her well-wishes for the newlyweds, who she referred to as her “sisters”.

“Omg! Congratulations sisters! Love love love!” she wrote.

On her Instagram Stories, Varela expressed her gratitude for the outpouring 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,” she wrote.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in