WORDS by PENELOPE DARIO IMAGES courtesy of GODDESS GRACE
I originally met José Castelo Branco at a dear friend’s event last December at Agent Provocateur’s Mercer location. The room buzzed with champagne bubbles, silk, lace, and the who is who of NYC’s sex positive scene. We were all gathering to watch Marie Sauvage string up a perfect doll of a rope bunny at the back of the shop in one of her signature sensual shibari performances. Suddenly, the air shifted as my friend producing the event caught wind that José Castelo Branco and Lady Betty were arriving. All eyes were on the entrance as a painfully glamorous silhouette appeared dressed head to toe in Balmain, hair coiffed to perfection, face beat to the gods, wielding an energy that could cut through steel to clear the crowd and make way for the lady of the evening, Dame Betty. This friend of mine, the producer, is typically known to have a similar demeanor to José, with sharp wit and sharper nails, but with Betty, this lioness purred like a kitten, holding her hand and doting on her with every step as she helped her make her way to the best seat in the house to view the performance.
Now, I am no stranger to odd pairings and the kaleidoscope of preferences and genders that exist, but this pair was exceptionally curious to the naked eye. It was not immediately clear to me if José was a trans woman or simply a man who enjoyed a bit of drag for a special occasion, nor was it evident the exact nature of the relationship between this fabulously ambiguous gazelle and Lady Betty—a very senior woman wrapped in furs and topped with diamonds and pearls whose health was surely in decline.
When I found out that these two were in fact “Husband and Wife” all sorts of relational dynamics came to mind—most obviously that Jose must have been the sugar baby to Betty who was said to be a diamond heiress and Dame of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. I settled on that idea and didn't do much digging into their connection or their titles, after all this is New York, we don't question eccentricity here we just enjoy the show.