A Historic Love Story: Meet the Lesbian Couple Who Made Queer History in Bolivia

Earlier this month, Fabiana Justiniano and Scarlett Rocha made history.

On August 7, the two danced into the night, celebrating their marriage with over a hundred friends and family members. It was the first same-sex civil marriage in Bolivia, the landlocked South American country located in the center of the continent.

“We didn’t expect it to be so beautiful,” Justiniano, 29, recently told the Associated Press from their home in the eastern city of Santa Cruz. “It was really, really great.”

The women met in 2022 through mutual friends. The two share their home with three dogs and four cats.

Bolivia’s constitution defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. The two women fought in court to have their marriage recognized, beginning four years ago after they were denied a marriage license.

Rocha, 29, who was born in Florida but grew up in both countries, told the AP that at first her U.S. family members were more accepting of her and her desire to marry Justiniano.

“We wanted to fight for marriage because it had always been part of our life plan,” she said.

The AP reports that their legal team found a loophole in the country’s constitution: International treaties come before national law. An advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights argued that same-sex couples should have the same rights as different-sex couples. That includes marriage equality.

“We expected a difficult process, but honestly, we never imagined it would take this long,” Justiniano told the news agency. “There were so many obstacles. There was so much discrimination.”

They won their legal challenge, but the decision only applies to their marriage.

Still, it’s sent hope to other queer couples looking to wed.

“When I saw the marriage certificate on the table, I felt this weight being lifted,” Rocha told the news agency. “This sense of peace came, where I was able to let down my guard and really enjoy what it means to be married.”

“What they have done is offer hope for other couples to have their marriages recognized,” Mateo Rodrigo, a lawyer with Igual Bolivia, the LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group that represented the couple, told the AP. “We believe change is inevitable.”