Lifestyle

Former Miss Spain Has Just Become The First Openly Gay National Beauty Queen

by Emily Arata
Stocksy

Patricia Yurena, the two-time winner of Miss Spain, has just stepped out of the closet and into the spotlight.

The former beauty queen decided to show, not tell, the world that she is gay. Yurena posted an Instagram photo showing both her and girlfriend Vanessa Cortes in bed. She captioned the photo, "Romeo and Juliet."

Comments on Yurena's Instagram were overwhelmingly positive. Since then, she's posted several more pictures.

Yurena told La Opinión de Tenerife that the photos are an expression of her current state of mind.

She said,

I don't regret what I did and I did it because I am happy about what's going on in my life.

Beauty pageants are often criticized for being out of date, potentially anti-feminist institutions. With that in mind, Yurena is clearly expanding the potential of a somewhat antiquated contest.

Hopefully, her announcement will bring changes of all sorts to the beauty pageant circuit.

H/T: NY Daily News, Photos Courtesy: Instagram