Former Miss America and new wife 'felt so blessed'

Source: AL.com, by Greg Garrison


When Deidre Downs was crowned Miss America more than a decade ago, the idea of legalized gay marriage and Miss America later marrying her same-sex partner in Alabama would have been an unimaginable future.

Times have changed.

Former Miss Alabama 2004 and Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs Gunn married her girlfriend, attorney Abbott Jones, in a ceremony Saturday, April 14, at the Birmingham Museum of Art. They flew out Sunday night from Atlanta for a honeymoon in Ireland.

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Some observers saw it as a breakthrough, a potentially game-changing moment in the fight for gay and lesbian rights in America and in one of the most conservative states in the nation. Deidre is a 2002 graduate of Samford University, a Baptist-affiliated school where she earned her bachelor's degree in history. Samford was founded by the Alabama Baptist Convention, and Southern Baptists in the state and nationally remain on the record as staunchly opposed to gay marriage.

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Deidre, in a statement to AL.com while on her honeymoon, responded.

"One of my favorite quotes is by Coco Chanel," she said. "'Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.' It can take courage to be who you are and to realize your worth as a person, but once you do it is such a beautiful and freeing thing. And once you do, that allows you to live with authenticity and compassion -- for yourself and for others."

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Abbott said in a statement to AL.com:

"Deidre is the most beautiful person I've ever met, both inside and out," she said. "I have no doubt she will continue to be a role model to so many, especially to young women who can look to her and see that regardless of who they love, they can be beautiful, intelligent, and confident in their own skin."


Read it all at: http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2018/04/former_miss_america_and_new_wi.html


Congratulations, Abbott and Deidre!