South Sudanese Top Model Aweng Ade Chuol & Her Wife Embrace On Cover of Elle UK

South Sudanese Top Model Aweng Ade Chuol and her wife Alexus Ade-Chuol braved the seemingly endless sea of criticism against African LGBTQ+ communities by posing on Elle UK's January 2021 issue together.

The newlyweds are the picture of love and happiness as they pose, kissing, for the magazine's new year release.

In an interview with Yahoo Life!, Elle UK's Editor-In-Chief Farrah Storr said of the groundbreaking cover, "Glossy magazines have traditionally put heterosexual couples on covers, but rarely have I seen same-sex couples embraced and celebrated in the same way. At Elle, we wanted simply to show a young couple in love at the end of a very tough year, and Aweng and Lexy seemed like the most natural fit in the world."

In the cover story, the 22-year-old model detailed the cultural and social implications that have come with living her most authentic life. The model says, "We got married and the whole world, literally the whole of my community, were wishing that I passes, in a way... A few months later I attempted [suicide]. It was really absurd, because subconsciously I felt I was maybe drained by the fact we'd got married. It's still a discussion now, like, 'How dare she marry a woman?"

One has to admit that seeing young Black Africans loving who they love unapologetically is a beautiful thing to see. We wish the newlyweds a love richer and stronger than their strongest enemies.