Beverly Johnson Reveals She Married Brian Maillian in Secret Vegas Wedding for Her Birthday

"It was just the right moment," the supermodel said of their 2023 nuptials

Beverly Johnson got exactly what she asked for on her birthday: to get married.

The supermodel, 71, who made history as the first Black woman on the cover of U.S. Vogue in 1974, revealed in an interview on Sirius XM’s Sway in the Morning this week that she and her longtime partner, Brian Maillian, officially tied the knot.

"Two days before my birthday, Oct. 13, [Brian] kept saying 'What do you want for your birthday,' " Johnson recalled on the podcast. "I sat up in the bed on Oct. 11 and said, 'I know what I want for my birthday.' "

"He said, 'What?' I said, 'I want to get married,' " she continued. "He went, 'Okay.' And I went, 'Did he say okay? Oh s---.' "

Two days later, the couple said "I do" in Las Vegas.

Johnson, who performing onstage in New York City in Beverly Johnson: In Vogue, also said that while Maillian wanted to have a big wedding with around 1,500 people, she wanted something more intimate. "It was just the right moment," she said of their Las Vegas nuptials.

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Going into the ceremony the supermodel wondered if the couple would go through with their impromptu marriage plans — or somehow not make it down the aisle. "I'm thinking the whole time, 'Oh, we're gonna get into a fight,' " she recalled.

But, to her happy surprise, they got married without a hitch.

Johnson added that her best friends helped orchestrate all the details of their wedding, including finding the chapel, "that was really beautiful," she said of the location.

Now, being married Johnson said she and Maillian's relationship is on a different level. "It's most certainly on the spiritual level," she shared, adding that "each day and moment becomes so precious and those moments with your grandchildren, everything becomes like awe."

Related: Supermodel Beverly Johnson Is Engaged at 67: 'We've Lived Through a Lot of the Same Things'

A week prior, on Jan. 6, Johnson made a fashionable appearance at Thursday's Palm Springs International Film Awards, where she stepped out with Maillian.

Johnson wore a voluminous black ANYA by VIVIEN dress with pointy black heels. To help keep focus on the voluminous garment, she opted for simple accessories, including dainty silver jewelry and silver hoops.

Maillian, a financier, complemented her outfit in a black and white tuxedo, complete with a black bow tie and black dress shoes.

Johnson, meanwhile, first revealed the two got engaged to PEOPLE in July 2020. While speaking toPEOPLE, the supermodel opened up about their relationship and what it was like to find love later in life.

"Just finding the love of my life at this point in my life has been amazing," she said. "This is the first time I've dated someone so close to my age! We know the same songs, and we've lived through a lot of the same things."

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Read the original article on People.