Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Argentina are a couple and now married

A pageant may not seem like the most likely setting for a love story but hey, if it worked in Miss Congeniality it can work in real life.

It now transpires that two beauty queens, who represented their respective countries as Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico at Miss Universe in 2019, are not only a couple but they’ve just tied the knot

Mariana Varela and Fabiola Valentín reportedly found each other at the Miss Grand International (MGI) contest in 2020 and, despite being inseparable ever since, have only just publicly declared their devotion to one another.

In a heart-warming Instagram post on Monday, Fabiana wrote, in Spanish: "After deciding to keep our relationship private, we’re opening up the doors to you on a special day.”

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Her caption was accompanied by the date “28/10/22” and followed by a heart and a ring emoji.

Fabiana"s reel then offered a snapshot into the pair’s romance, including their engagement and civil wedding ceremony.

The news was met with delight on the social media platform, racking up more than 127,000 likes and 5,800 comments in just three days.

"Omg congratulations MGI brought together a beautiful union,” wrote one well-wisher.

“Omg! Congratulations sisters! Lovelovelove!” commented another.

“Wow, so many congrats,” added a third. “I hope you have all the happiness you deserve. Long live love!"

Mariana gushingly replied: “Thanks for all the love! We are very happy and blessed. Hoping that all the love you’re sending us comes back to you multiplied! Endless thanks.”

The two women hail from two of the most progressive Latin American countries when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. Argentina became the first country in the region to legalise same-sex marriage when it did so back in July 2010 and, despite a more fractious past, Puerto Rico is now on the brink of introducing a bill that will protect same-sex couples under its domestic violence law.

The pair documented their engagement and wedding in a moving reelfabiolavalentinpr/Instagram

Whilst neither Fabiola nor Mariana was crowned winner at the major beauty contests, they both achieved pretty good results. Fabiola made it into the top three at Miss Universe 2019 and both made it into the top 10 at MGI.

But, clearly, the greatest prize of all was finding love.

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