Claws star Niecy Nash and her wife, singer Jessica Betts, have become the first same-sex couple to be featured on the cover of Essence magazine. Nash shared the historic magazine cover on Instagram.

“Making H E R S T O R Y,” the actress wrote on Instagram. “Thank you @essence for choosing The Betts as your FIRST same sex couple to cover (your) magazine!”

Nash also shared the virtual Essence cover, which featured several affectionate clips of the couple.

“What I was and am still attracted to is Jessica’s soul. She was the most beautiful soul I had ever met in my life. Now that I’ve experienced it, I can’t imagine going through life without it,” Nash said.

The couple received praise from many of their supporters, including Taraji P. Henson and Ava DuVernay. 

"OOOOOHHHHH FRIEND THIS IS BREATH TAKING!!!!!!" Henson wrote on Instagram.

"Exceptional. Exquisite. Everything!" DuVernay added.

At the same time, many critics came out with negative reactions after seeing the cover.

“A lot of people thought it was like a movie or some promo,” Nash said, according to USA Today. “They started calling everybody, and we were like, ‘This is insane.’ I never knew why where you lay your head is such a big deal to other people. I was like, ‘People care?’”

But Betts said the couple's goal is to provide genuine representation.

“Agendas feel very forced,” Betts told Essence. “If there’s an agenda, it’s that we’re going to spread queer joy. The world needs it. Real talk.”

The pair also spoke about their chemistry.

“We’re extremely compatible,” Nash said, according to Essence. “Sometimes you can be attracted to somebody but don’t have a lot in common. But we have such a natural compatibility that we can be around each other, work together and hang out all day. If there was a 25th hour, we would be right up in it.”  

Although the couple started off as friends, Nash said she didn't know if Betts would be someone she would date.

“I loved her before I was in love with her because she is such a special human being,” Nash told People in 2020. “But we began to see each other in a way we never had before. Sometimes you get so broken by love, you run from it. But I’ve learned that you should always hold space for magic, because it can happen at any time.”

The actress said she was happily married to her ex-husband Jay Tucker when she connected with Betts on social media in 2015. Betts and Nash became closer after the actress finalized her divorce with Tucker in 2019. The pair then announced their marriage in 2020.

Although Nash came out publicly as part of the LGBTQ+ community after meeting Betts, the Claws star said she was never suppressing her sexuality.

"I don’t feel like my marriage is my coming out of anywhere, but rather a going into myself and being honest about who I love," Nash said. "And I’m not limiting myself on what that love is supposed to look like."

The TV star also said her marriage "has absolutely nothing to do with gender" and "everything to do with [Betts'] soul."