Carrie Prejean, the Miss California beauty queen who placed second at this year’s Miss USA, created a storm of controversy with her anti-gay marriage remarks at the April pageant.

According to Star magazine, her mother, Francine Coppola, was involved in a gay affair with Valerie Vetrano, an openly lesbian sales rep.

Vetrano claims that the two broke up after the pageant because Francine wanted to keep the relationship secret, saying “…she was a Christian and that her loved ones would never accept her if she were gay.” She added, “Valerie feels that if Francine had just been open about her sexuality with her family, Carrie would have a better understanding of what gay people have to go through. They just want equal rights”

During a 1996 divorce, Carrie’s father made accusations that Coppola was lesbian. She in turn accused him of being gay.

Star was founded in 1974 as a competitor to the National Enquirer. Given the magazine’s tabloid status, I’m going to conclude that the story is false unless the information is confirmed by a more reliable news source.