Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico reveal that they’re married

From competitors, to better halves—love has the power to actualise the impossible and the unimaginable. And the sweet and secretive story of Miss Argentina Mariana Varela and Miss Puerto Rico Fabiola Valentín, who met each other at the Miss Grand International pageant in 2020, and tied the knot on Friday, exemplifies this perfectly. The couple made the announcement on an Instagram post. 

The joint Instagram post by the newlyweds read: "After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day 28/10/22."

The short video gave a glimpse into their relationship—from romantic walks and holidays together, to their marriage proposal. The beauties are seen flaunting their rings in a room decked up with balloons and lights. They’re also seen embracing outside a courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Soon after they announced their wedding, the official account of Miss Grand International also posted photos of the divas and wrote, "Congratulations to both of you. MGIO always supports ‘LOVE’ without boundaries.”

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. Fabiola Valentín shared an image of them hugging in Phuket, Thailand.

"One of the great gifts in this experience was your friendship, walking this process with you was a special and real one," she wrote in Spanish at the time. "I miss you, my girl @marianajvarela.'"

Fans, celebrities, and fellow pageant figures congratulated Varela and Valentín on their picture-perfect love. “Congratulations,” wrote Ghanaian singer and beauty queen Abena Akuaba Appiah, who won Miss Grand International 2020. “MGI brought together a beautiful union.”

On her Instagram stories, Valentín shared a message in response to the positive reactions to her post saying, "How nice it is to read each message. Thank you all for your words and good wishes."