In the midst of the pandemic, protests, and the continued uncertainty around just about every aspect of American life, we have some good news to share. The Exonerated Five’s Raymond Santana and reality TV star Deelishis got married over the weekend.
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People reports that the former Flavor of Love star and the social justice activist married in Duluth, Ga. One of their guests was Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kandi Burruss who says she was ‘happy to play a role in their love connection.’
Deelishis, 42, born Chandra Davis, is a Detroit native who won Season 2 of Flavor of Love over contestant Tiffany “New York” Pollard. Although she won the heart of William ‘Flavor Flav’ Drayton on the show, their “relationship’ didn’t last much longer than the show did.
Santana is part of the Exonerated Five, once known as the Central Park Five, who were accused of raping Central Park jogger Trisha Meili in 1989. He served five years for the crime but was fully exonerated in 2002 when convicted serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the rape and was a DNA match.
In 2014, the city of New York paid the Five, who included Dr. Yusuf Salaam, Kharey Wise, Antron McCray and Kevin Richardson, a total of $41M in a settlement. In 2019, 23 million watched the dramatization of the events on the limited series When They See Us directed by Ava DuVernay. Santana’s tweet to Duvernay years earlier was the impetus for the series.
The couple confirmed they were dating in October of last year, then Santana posted the video of his proposal last December.
The newlyweds both have daughters from previous relationships. They started appearing together on Santana’s Instagram in 2019. Some thought it was an unlikely couple, which they addressed in an Instagram post around the time they introduced their relationship to the world.
Santana remains active in social justice and runs a clothing line Park Madison NYC and Deelishis is an entrepreneur and Instagram influencer.
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