It's a Family Affair – Husbands Ross Mathews & Dr. Wellinthon Garcia-Mathews on Their Children's Book

It was in 2020 that Ross Mathews met Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews at the Almar Resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Two years later the couple returned there to be married, exchanging vows in front of 110 guests. "It was a destination wedding," the 42-year old Mathews told People Magazine at the time. "So we invited 130 people, thinking maybe 50 people would come. But 110 people came – and I'm thrilled!"

The out comedian is best-known today for his ongoing appearances as a judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race" and as a co-host of Drew Barrymore's chat show. It was on that show that Barrymore asked if she could be flower girl at the wedding. The ceremony was also a family affair with García-Mathews' father, representing both the couple's parents, walking them down the aisle. And García-Mathews' sister, Racquel, serving as the pride of honor, while Mathews' brother, Eric, was the best man; and García-Mathews' nephews, Evan and Andrew, were the ring bearers.

For the newlyweds, Evan and Andrew, who were 11 and 9 years old at the time of the wedding, stole the show. "They really took such pride in the job," Mathews said to People recently. "I didn't anticipate that. They took it quite seriously."

García-Mathews, who helps design classroom curricula as the associate director of English New Language & Equity for a New York state public school, saw a lesson in responsibility in his nephews' participation in the wedding, and discussed this with Mathews. It was then the idea for a children's book clicked. "I'm a storyteller – I communicate with people, but I don't have kids and I wouldn't pretend to know how to really communicate with kids," Mathews says. "But with my husband's expertise and my storytelling ability, we wrote it up." And they even brought Barrymore into the book, again as the flower girl, but as a child version of herself.

With illustrations by Tommy Doyle, the couple's book "Tio and Tio: The Ring Bearers" hit stores and online sellers on April 15. It is geared toward kids from 4 to 8 years old. EDGE speaks to Mathews and García-Mathews' about the book.

EDGE: Tell us about "Tío & Tío: The Ring Bearers?"

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: It was inspired by our nephews, who were at our wedding, and they were just so nervous and adamant about doing it right. At one point, I remember turning to Ross and saying, "They're really taking this seriously, and they're not the ones getting married."

Ross Mathews: We were so touched when Wellinthon saw them practicing with their father. He came and told me, "Oh my God, I saw the boys practicing for the wedding." As we were reflecting on the wedding in the months after, we remembered that moment. It stuck with us. Now, remember this is in the middle of COVID, and our wedding, for a lot of people, was the first trip they'd taken after everything shut down. When we were reflecting on the boys, Wellinthon, an educator, said there should be a book about this.

EDGE: What do your nephews think of the books? Did they give some input into the story?

Ross Mathews: For starters, we asked them if it would be okay. That was the first question. We promised them that they could be involved in the process, and when we finished the manuscript, they read it and had extensive notes. They came over to the house, and we sat at the dining room table and went through page by page. We addressed every note because we wanted to give them ownership. This is their story; it's not our story. When the illustrations came around, they thought it was hilarious because their parents were in it.

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: They were very much into ensuring it looked exactly like them. Those little minutiae that I felt were cute and innocent speak volumes to children's imaginations and how powerful they are in creating this story. This project was a dream come true as an educator because I've always aspired to be a children's book author. Also, this was a tsunami of love for me, especially because my nephews are the center of it all.

EDGE: How did Tommy Doyle capture your personal illustrating style?

Ross Mathews: We went through a lot of work by many different illustrators because it was important to us because it was our wedding and based on real life and real people. So, it was important to us to find an illustrator that captured the joy, light, expression, and reality, but with a bit of whimsy. When we saw Tommy's work, we were like, ding, ding, ding. The process was really fun. He took the book, sent his vision, and we just whittled it down with him. The boys had the most opinions about the illustrations, and they got to have those opinions. We took them, and we addressed everything. Tommy was able to really capture a real moment in time for us. We have a wedding album book, and this book will go right next to it as a companion piece. Our wedding album tells our story, and this book tells the story of the boys who were instrumental in making our magical day happen.

EDGE: What's your favorite thing about working together?

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: I enjoyed the whole process of working with him. Just knowing how he is on TV transcends television into real life. He's genuinely 100% himself on TV as he is at home. It was fascinating to see how his brain worked, and mine, regarding my practical knowledge of the storytelling curriculum. Marrying the two was a joy, and it blended well.

Ross Mathews: Here's the deal: Our marriage works because he thinks I'm funny, and I think he's brilliant. That's what happened with the book, too. I got to see it. It's fun when you get to see your partner do their thing. I watched him apply his 20 years of educational work in the classroom. When I was trying to find funny jokes and storyline, he was applying so much more. I was in awe of him throughout the whole process.

EDGE: What I love about your book is the love of family. What do you hope readers will take away from it?

Ross Mathews: What I hope everyone takes away from it is how valuable each and every person in a family is, even if you're the teeniest, tiniest member. A wedding is a perfect example of that, where everybody contributes, shows up, and does their part, whether you are part of the wedding party or a person attending. Showing up is a duty that we owe to each other. I don't want to say obligation because we all want to do it, but it is required in a family. I think often, and maybe I'm speaking for myself, but we all get caught up in the "Who cares about me?" Or going even to notice I'm not there? This book shows that we would notice if you weren't there, and it wouldn't be the same. You are invaluable to this family.

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: There is a part in the story where we mentioned how we've shown up for the boys, and they also mentioned it. And for us to capture that, I wanted to reflect it back to them and say, "We were there for you, but you were also there for us." The most pivotal moment in the book is realizing that we have your back and always will, but you'll also have ours, which means the world to us.

EDGE: Why is LGBTQIA+ representation in literature important, especially in children's books?

Ross Mathews: Well, it's something I never had growing up in my little farm town in books or any media type. I talk a lot about growing up, not knowing if I could become an adult. I remember a specific moment asking myself, "Can I grow up?" because I've never seen a gay grownup. This book isn't about that. It's not our story. It is set at our wedding, and that part is not done politically. Of course, there will be people and groups who probably won't read it and will probably have an issue with it without even reading it. I would encourage them to read the book, and they will find an important message about family that happens to be set at our wedding.

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: The other concept I play with is the whole windows and mirrors and ensuring that we have windows or just visuals of people who are different from us. That's the window, but also have mirrors in place so that our kids can say, "I see myself in that," whatever it may be. Like Ross said, growing up, he didn't have that, and neither did I. I've never had any Dominican representation in the media unless it was in baseball. Which, by the way, we don't watch. For me, it was this opportunity to be that mirror for our kids, so it was important to write this story.

EDGE: Will we be seeing more books from you?

Ross Mathews: I hope so.

Dr. Wellinthon García-Mathews: Fingers crossed.

Ross Mathews: This book introduces these young, curious, and fun characters for more adventures. I'd like to see what happens next, so all I can say is to stay tuned.