The RuPaul’s Drag Race family is about to get a little bigger.
Long-time panelist and guest judge Ross Mathews revealed on Tuesday that he pulled a Shailene Woodley with a surprise engagement to his partner, Wellington Garcia, amid COVID-19. In an Instagram post featuring the couple canoodling in matching Gucci loafers (#goals), the 41-year-old said that Garcia popped the question after a year of “navigating a pandemic, quarantine, and opposite coasts.”
Mathews, of course, said “yes.” “Dr. García, I love you,” he wrote. “A lifetime of adventure awaits.”
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Mathews said that few outside of the couple’s close circle were even aware that they were together. In conversation with Drew Barrymore on her eponymous (and gleefully unhinged) talk show, he noted that he had “been so private about this relationship” after ending things with his boyfriend of 10 years, Salvador Camarena, in 2018.
“It feels so weird because I tell you guys everything… so I’m so happy to be sharing this with all of you,” Mathews, who co-hosts the recurring “Drew’s News” segment with Barrymore, told viewers.
Although little is known about Garcia because he isn’t a public figure, Mathews said his beau is an “educator,” while calling him “hilarious and… the smartest person I’ve ever met.” (US Weekly reports that Garcia is a Hofstra graduate who currently works as director of curriculum for the Elmont School District in Elmont, New York.)
In deciding to lock it down in lockdown, Mathews added that he took the advice of none other than Beyoncé Knowles: “If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.” “Well, I did!” he exclaimed.
Barrymore, a noted lover of love, joined all of us in toasting the happy couple. “I’m so happy for you!” she shouted while showering Mathews with confetti.
In addition to now planning a wedding — with a date yet to be announced — the Chelsea Lately and Tonight Show alum is keeping very busy during these COVID times. Mathews is a panelist on the current 13th season of Drag Race, hosts the podcast Straight Talk, and recently released his third book Name Drop: The Really Good Celebrity Stories. He even debuted a line of kaftans in December.
Shailene could never.
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