  We investigate the possibility that the low mass companion of the black hole
in the source of GW190814 was a strange quark star. This possibility is viable
within the so-called two-families scenario in which neutron stars and strange
quark stars coexist. Strange quark stars can reach the mass range indicated by
GW190814, $M\sim (2.5-2.67) M_\odot$ due to a large value of the adiabatic
index, without the need for a velocity of sound close to the causal limit.
Neutron stars (actually hyperonic stars in the two-families scenario) can
instead fulfill the presently available astrophysical and nuclear physics
constraints which require a softer equation of state. In this scheme it is
possible to satisfy both the request of very large stellar masses and of small
radii while using totally realistic and physically motivated equations of
state. Moreover it is possible to get a radius for a 1.4 $M_\odot$ star of the
order or less than 11 km, which is impossible if only one family of compact
stars exists.
