Arts & Entertainment
WWE star Sonya Deville announces engagement to girlfriend
Proposal took place the day after Valentine’s Day in N.J.
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 Valentine’s Day.
“It was always you,” Berenato captioned her post on Instagram. “I 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,” she told People magazine, which broke the story.
Berenato, 29, popped the question on Feb. 15 at Rails Steakhouse, in front of their family and friends, including Cassano’s two daughters, ages 7 and 11. The out WWE star gave her fianceé 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,’” Berenato recalled. “’So, whenever you proposed, I could give you a ring immediately back.'”
“I could have never imagined a love being so magical,” Cassano told the magazine. “I still wake up every day and truly feel like we’re living in a dream. This proposal was a fairytale, not only for me, but she proposed to my daughters, blending our worlds together. I can’t say it enough, but life with her is a true dream and we are so lucky to have found this love.”
“She is the epitome of my ride or die,” Berenato told the magazine. “To 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.”
Cassano said she first met Berenato at one of her shows last April. “This is going to sound really cheesy,” she told People, “but I knew, the second I saw her,” that she was the one for her. Cassano was seated in the front row. “The 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,” she said, “to be engaged as a gay female in the WWE, and to have proposed to my fiancée. 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.”

(Photo courtesy of Kali McCarthy)
And she told the magazine she has a message for her fans and everyone LGBTQ.
“I 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.”
Sports
‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay
Games to take place next month in Italy
“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.
HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.
The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.
Bars & Parties
Here’s where to watch ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ with fellow fans
Entertainers TrevHER and Grey host event with live performance
Spark Social Events will host “Ru Paul’s Drag Race S18 Watch Party Hosted by Local Drag Queens” on Friday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.
Drag entertainers TrevHER and Grey will provide commentary and make live predictions on who’s staying and who’s going home. Stick around after the show for a live drag performance. The watch party will take place on a heated outdoor patio and cozy indoor space.
This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
The DC Center is hosting a watch party for an episode of the 10th and final season of “Queer Eye,” which was filmed in D.C. The screening will be held on Friday, Jan. 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Center.
The screening will last 45-55 minutes, with community time both before and after the episode. Drinks and snacks will be provided and organizers promise a “surprise or two.” For information on tickets, visit the DC Center’s website.
