Melissa & Gabriella

Melissa (31) & Gabriela (25)

Artesia, California

“The Latina Lawyers”

Melissa and Gabriella are spicy, feisty and fun Latina sisters who work hard by day and party hard by night. The girls are first-generation American born to parents from Ecuador and Guatemala and their family home is known for being the place to be for parties filled with dancing, music and delicious food! Though they are six years apart, people often mistake them for being twins and they don’t correct the mistake! The sisters are extremely close and credit their upbringing for making them rely on each other. They rarely make decisions without checking in with the other to get approval. 

Melissa is an attorney who made her way through ultra-competitive UC Berkeley Law School and landed a job at a top law firm. She is smart, sexy, savvy and has a relentless work-ethic, but found the pressure of a corporate law firm to be toxic and crushing to her spirit. Melissa quit the unfulfilling rate-race and said goodbye to a massive yearly salary to move back to her parents’ home, into her childhood bedroom, so she can focus on practicing law that will make a positive impact on her community. It’s a big step back so she can move her life forward. She was thusly reunited with her sister Gabriela.

Gabriela is starting her second year in law school at UC Irvine. She was inspired to go into law and follow in her big sister’s footsteps. Gabriela loves to tag along to professional networking events with Melissa and go to court to watch her big sister in action. Melissa has Gabriela in her office as an intern and they are an incredible team. They both think the same, so when given even a difficult task, they set a plan of attack and get to work. The sisters are similar in their love hard, fight harder personalities. They know how to push each-others buttons better and aren’t afraid to yell and scream their way through a fight until it’s resolved. 

Melissa and Gabriela have both been unlucky in love. Melissa is in the early stages of a divorce from her ex-husband. Yes, she is filing the divorce herself. Melissa admits that she is still in love with her husband even though the logical part of her brain tells her that it’s a bad and unhealthy relationship. Gabriela is divorced and has had a string of, “flash in the pan” relationships. Gabriela’s most recent relationship ended because Marlin, her then-beau, didn’t like that her law school studies took up so much of her time. Marlin also didn’t like that Gabriela’s social schedule was filled with her sister and law school parties and networking events. Both sisters feel like their choice in men is because of their mother teaching them from a young age to take care of men without making their own needs a priority. They struggle to pick men who are a good fit and they feel like they are ready to leave their subservient roots behind and take steps towards more balanced, loving relationships. However, they are both enjoying the time together being single. They love to date, flirt, go out and get plenty of attention from men!

Having the sisters under the same roof and have the family reunited once again doesn’t come without re-opening old wounds. Issues such as their parents’ divorce, tensions with their younger brother, and issues with their mother and upbringing are coming to the surface. This move home is forcing the family to re-examine, and work through age-old issues.

Like a telenovela the sisters have their fair share of women and men who are jealous and who don’t approve of them or their relationship. Their female cousins are jealous of their success in life as well as their close relationship with each other. The next year is going to bring a lot of changes for the sisters. They are planning on moving to Irvine together to be closer to Gabriela’s school while she finishes up her law degree. Melissa is at a crossroads and wants to figure out if she wants to stay on her current path or start a career outside of law. The sisters are trying to make decisions that keep them as close as possible, but new romantic relationships or career opportunities may throw a wrench in their plans.