Arts & Entertainment
WWE star Sonya Deville announces engagement to girlfriend
Proposal took place the day after Valentine’s Day in N.J.
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Wrestling star Daria Berenato, whose moniker in the ring is Sonya Deville, is celebrating a double engagement with her partner, fitness model Toni Cassano. The pair got engaged in a wine cellar cave in northwestern New Jersey the day after Valentineās Day.
āIt was always you,ā Berenato captioned her post on Instagram. āI could go on for days about the way I feel about this woman, I never knew love could feel so happy and safe all at the same time. I found my best friend, my soul mate and my life partner all in one incredible human,ā she told People magazine, which broke the story.Ā
Berenato, 29, popped the question on Feb. 15 at Rails Steakhouse, in front of their family and friends, including Cassanoās two daughters, ages 7 and 11. The out WWE star gave her fianceĆ© a custom-designed ring, and was shocked when Cassano, 31, surprised her with an engagement ring of her own.
“I proposed, then Toni’s like, ‘Grab my purse.’ And she pulls out a freaking ring box, and she’s like, ‘I’ve been carrying this around in my purse for four months,āā Berenato recalled. ā’So, whenever you proposed, I could give you a ring immediately back.'”
āI could have never imagined a love being so magical,ā Cassano told the magazine. āI still wake up every day and truly feel like weāre living in a dream. This proposal was a fairytale, not only for me, but she proposed to my daughters, blending our worlds together. I canāt say it enough, but life with her is a true dream and we are so lucky to have found this love.ā
āShe is the epitome of my ride or die,ā Berenato told the magazine. āTo be able to show her and her two daughters how much they all mean to me was what this proposal was all about. They are my world and now we are one family forever together.ā
Cassano said she first met Berenato at one of her shows last April. “This is going to sound really cheesy,ā she told People, ābut I knew, the second I saw her,” that she was the one for her. Cassano was seated in the front row. āThe first time I ever saw Toni was when I was coming out doing my entrance ready to wrestle, and I looked into the crowd,” she recalled.
After the show, the couple spent the night eating pizza at a random dive bar, and talked until 5 a.m. “I was instantly like, ‘This girl is the love of my life,’ ” said Berenato.
“It’s so cool to me to be in this position right now,ā she said, āto be engaged as a gay female in the WWE, and to have proposed to my fiancĆ©e. Because I look back at seven years ago, eight years ago when I wasn’t even openly out yet, and I was hiding relationships, and I was still trying to figure out my comfortability with being gay and who I was.ā
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(Photo courtesy of Kali McCarthy)
And she told the magazine she has a message for her fans and everyone LGBTQ.Ā
āI never thought I’d be here, but look guys, I’m here and you guys can do it too. And it’s okay to be who you are. It’s okay to love who you love, and it’s so special and so important to accept yourself.”
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The 2024 New York City Pride Parade wound through the streets of Manhattan and past the historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
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The fourth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 29. The event began with a march around downtown Fredericksburg beginning and ending in the park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Covering Fredericksburg Pride for @WashBlade . City Council member @WillMackintosh speaking: pic.twitter.com/tDdVD2IVsM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 29, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride
Senior living and healthcare organization holds fourth annual march at Falls Church campus
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The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fourth annual community Pride march around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Tuesday, June 25. Following the march, a drag brunch was held with performances by drag artists of SADBrunch: Crimsyn, Sapphire Dupree and Evon Dior Michelle.
(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
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