Niecy Nash And Wife Jessica Betts Become First Same-Sex Couple To Cover ‘Essence’
25.02.2022 - 02:15
/ etcanada.com
Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts are making history. The 52-year-old actress and her 39-year-old bride cover the March/April 2022 “Black Women in Hollywood” issue of Essence, becoming the first same-sex couple to cover the mag.
On the cover, Nash and Betts both pose topless, with the former looking at the camera as the latter lovingly cradles her face. In the accompanying interview, the women open up about their unexpected love story.
“Not only was it challenging for me to realize I’m having feelings for a woman that I’ve normally had for a man… but it was compounded by the fact that this is my friend,” Nash explains. “I thought, ‘What I do not want to do is anything that would allow this person to not be in my life for the rest of my life.’ So I backed up. I was very afraid.”
Ultimately, Nash conquered her fears, and jumped into a relationship with Betts. When the pair announced their marriage in August 2020, Nash was shocked by the public reaction to the news. Nash was previously married to Don Nash from 1994 to 2007, and Jay Tucker from 2011 to 2020.
“A lot of people thought it was like a movie or some promo,” Nash says. “They started calling everybody, and we were like, ‘This is insane.’ I never knew why where you lay your head is such a big deal to other people. I was like, ‘People care?'”
Betts remembers Nash being “really shocked” by the response, and, while the singer knew the news would create a splash, she was likewise surprised at the magnitude.
“I knew there was going to be some banter around it. But I didn’t know that it was literally going to break the internet!” Betts says.
Their relationship has only flourished since they said “I do,” and Nash isn’t shy about sharing what she loves about her wife.
“The least