A Trip to Coachella and a Surprise Wedding, Too

New York Times

18-04-2025

Kameron Ross Martinez remembers being 'completely uninterested' when first meeting Emilio Angel Botello at a Labor Day pool party in Dallas in 2019, hosted by Justin Johnson — better known as drag performer Alyssa Edwards from 'RuPaul's Drag Race.'
'Lio was there with his ex biz partner who was also his ex — it was like a hi-bye kind of thing,' Mr. Martinez recalled.
Mr. Martinez, a longtime friend of Mr. Johnson, had attended many parties hosted by Alyssa Edwards. Mr. Botello, who goes by Lio, was new to the scene, having met Mr. Johnson after appearing on the Netflix baking competition show 'Sugar Rush' in 2019.
Mr. Johnson had asked Mr. Botello to make desserts for the Labor Day party and invited him to attend as well.
About a month after the party, on Oct. 13, 2019, Mr. Botello, 36, and Mr. Martinez, 35, crossed paths again. Mr. Martinez was out with Mr. Johnson at Station 4, a gay club in Dallas.
This time there was a strong interest for both of them. 'If people could have heart eyes, Kam had them,' Mr. Botello said. 'It was the strangest shift of energy. So, it was my turn to act a little cool about it.'
The evening ended with a first kiss and an exchange of phone numbers. When Mr. Martinez reached out about seeing Mr. Botello again on Oct. 14, 2019, 'I was trying to keep everything chill,' Mr. Botello said. 'So, I said, 'I'm going to do laundry,'' and invited Mr. Martinez to hang out while he did.
'We knew nothing about each other,' Mr. Martinez said. 'Something like doing laundry is actually a good way to talk.'
[Click here to binge read this week's featured couples.]
On Oct. 23, 2019, the two had their first real date, which was dinner at North Italia in Dallas. Three days later, they went to Mr. Johnson's annual Alyssa Edwards Halloween party. 'At the party, he pulled me aside and asked me to be his boyfriend,' Mr. Botello said.
Later that evening, they attended an annual Halloween block party in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas, where Mr. Martinez was living.
Five months later, on March 14, 2020, Mr. Martinez — a country singer who performs as Kameron Ross — traveled to Los Angeles to audition for 'America's Got Talent,' with Mr. Botello by his side. 'He got all yes's,' Mr. Botello said. So he was invited to return to Los Angeles that summer. Mr. Botello was with him throughout the six-week journey until Mr. Martinez was eliminated in the quarterfinals. As the pandemic took hold, they returned to Dallas and decided to quarantine together at Mr. Botello's East Dallas apartment.
Mr. Martinez moved in officially in October 2020, and a year later they bought a home together in Oak Cliff.
Mr. Martinez proposed to Mr. Botello while the two were vacationing in Oaxaca, Mexico, in January 2024. 'It was our friend Josh's 39th birthday,' Mr. Martinez said. 'The only way to surprise him by wrapping it in something else.'
The hotel where they were staying was on a cliff with a small beach below.
'Going down the steep steps I see the roses in a heart and candles and I'm smirking like, 'This is so cheesy for a birthday,'' Mr. Botello said. Then he realized, it wasn't for their friend's birthday. It was for him. It suddenly didn't seem so cheesy after all.
Mr. Botello, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, is a baker and a senior process support consultant at the insurance company Allstate. After his appearance on 'Sugar Rush,' where he placed second over all, he has been a guest on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show,' 'Good Morning Texas' and 'Texas Today.' Mr. Botello selectively bakes for clients. 'I wait for an order I'm passionate about,' he said.
In addition to being a singer, Mr. Martinez, who was born and raised in Houston, Texas, works as a strategic account manager at a technology company focused on the travel industry. Mr. Martinez attended Blinn College in Bryan, Texas.
Since they were already going to be in California for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the two decided to get married while there. 'Considering our current political climate, we weren't sure we would always be able to marry,' Mr. Botello said. 'So, we decided to use our time doing what we love to get married.'
On April 10, the two were wed at the Riverside California County Courthouse. Peter Aldana, a county clerk, officiated before their three friends, who the couple surprised by getting married that day.
'We asked our friends for their opinions on our 'Coachella outfits' the night before. It was our 'Just Married shirts,'' Mr. Botello said. 'It took them a second to get it. When they asked when we did it, we told them we were going to the next day.'
After the ceremony, the group had lunch at the Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage.
'I felt at peace,' Mr. Botello said. 'In all the chaos we experience right now, this day felt right.'