WORLD’S FIRST SAME-SEX MARRIED COUPLE CELEBRATE A DECADE

Two women, who were the first ever same-sex couple in the world to be legally married, will celebrate ten years of marriage on Friday.

Helene Faasen and Anne-Marie were married in 2001 after the Netherlands became the first nation to legalise same-sex marriage.

They both wore white wedding gowns and tied the knot along with three other male couples in Amsterdam’s City Hall.

“We married for love, not politics. But of course we were aware it was an historic moment,” 41-year-old Anne-Marie told AFP.

Faasen (44) added: “We wanted to make other people think about how horrible it is to be denied something that is a natural right for others. A heterosexual person never needs to think about whether he is allowed to marry or not, he simply needs to be lucky enough to find the love of his life.”

Since their historic wedding day, 14,813 other same-sex couples have married in the Netherlands. Of these, 1,078 have divorced.

According to Human Rights Watch, same-sex marriage has to-date been adopted by Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010), and Argentina (2010).

Since 2010, same-sex marriage has been legal in Mexico City’s Federal District, and it is recognised by all other Mexican states. Several states within the US also recognise same-sex marriage.