Julie, Hillary Goodridge To Divorce, Couple Led Gay Marriage Fight In Massachusetts

BOSTON — A lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts has filed for divorce. Julie and Hillary Goodridge were among seven gay couples who filed a lawsuit that led to a court ruling making Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriages in 2004. The couple became the public face of the debate in the state and married the first day same-sex marriages became legal.

The divorce case was filed last week in Suffolk Probate and Family Court and was not unexpected. The couple announced they were separating in 2006.

Messages left for the Goodridges were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Comments

[ramal]

Just like the straights. Be careful what you wish for.

[johnnygoodwud]

maybe playing on the same team got old

[jeffp26]

This is exactly why gays should be allowed to marry.

It will provide economic stimulus for divorce attorneys.

Gays should suffer just like straights do.

[rikki52b]

So it goes in life sorry it did not work out for them.

[juzcuz]

There's a fine line between love and hate in all marriages. And it seems this same fine line takes place in the hypocritical world of Christianity... those fine and uppity christians either love you or hate you... depending on what color eyes you have, what your skin color is, where you go to church and/or whether you're gay or straight. And then the phoneys sing "He's Got the Whold World in His Hands."

[pickwickianmom]

Even though I'm a Christian, I have to agree with you that about your description of Christians. Many are nasty to me because I'm liberal and my daughter is Muslim. It becomes really hard to keep the faith.

[Aabby]

just goes to show you all of us are the same :) Happy Divorce :)

[Madhyamika]

Lawyer's Association should have donated tons of money to fight for same-sex marriage. It's great investment for downstream income.

[democratUSA]

All it means is they aren't much different than anyone else. They tried to make it work and it just didn't work out. Somehow I found a way to make it work, 22 years and staying.

[pickwickianmom]

Congrats. That is wonderful. I love to hear about marriages that work. Marriage really is bigger than just the couple or the family. It is part of the community, and it always saddens me to hear about divorce.

[JAforObama]

Me too. My husband and I will be married 25 years in June. First and only marriage for us both. Our children and very proud to have parents that are married...and want to be. I'm sorry to hear of divorce. I honestly can't imagine it.

[dutchman]

Kudos to you both. You beat the odds. My parents have also stayed married, even through some rocky times, and I think me and my siblings are better off for it.

But we need to remember that it won't work for everyone, and we certainly shouldn't hold gays up to some higher standard that straight couples.

I consider myself lucky to have lived in two cities that pioneered gay marriage (Amsterdam and Boston), to experience not only the joy of seeing all of my neighbors have equal protection under the law, but also to see first hand proof that all of the crazy theories about what happens to society when gays are allowed to marry are just that - crazy.

[KevinVT]

Divorce is, in fact, apparently an important part of marriage.

In Vermont, when we got Civil Unions, they didn't allow us to use the word "marriage."
But they also didn't allow us to use the word "divorce."
Apparently divorce is also sacred.

[SwingingFromCenter]

On a serious note, they made it 4 years. That's pretty good by today's standards (the average marriage lasts just over 2).

I think if your marriage makes it to 1 year, you should get a nod of approval, 5 years you should get some sort of trophy, and if you actually make it 10 years, they should put you in the marriage hall of fame or something. Most of the people talking about "Oh, everybody I know has been married for 40 or 50 years!" are relics. They're talking about couples who wed during a time when the woman's job was to stay at home and bake pies, and the man was the breadwinner. Even if they decided they couldn't stand eachother, they were basically stuck. The woman was terrified of having to support herself, and the man didn't want to lose half his stuff and pay alimony.

Times are different now. Women today don't mind ending a marriage--they have job skills. And men...well, we're still just as stupid as ever, but we're making enough now to where we can lose half our stuff and still have quite a bit left.

[tr24]

Horse pucky...four years is "good?" Certainly, you are kidding! I thought the vows were for a lifetime! Silly, me to take this entire "marriage" thing seriously. Considering they fought so hard for this presumed right and now can't reconcile their differences after only four years speaks volumes. How long were they together BEFORE they were "married" again? No need for the smoke and mirrors, we all see the puppeteers. It was never about "marriage," it had far more to do with forcing acceptance of this lifestyle on the rest of us.

[hotwire]

Right on! Nice to see at least one person on here understands what this was all about.

[SwingingFromCenter]

Yeah, cause hetero marriage has such a high success rate.

You're just looking for someone to ridicule so you can feel better about yourself. You are vapid and shallow. I sort of pity you that your life is so droll that you feel the need to do that. Might I suggest getting some personal self esteem?

[sean6886]

Grow up! I know many hetrosexual couples who never made it past 5 years. It doesn't matter what your sexual preference is, marriage happens and so does divorce. No one goes into a marriage thinking about divorce. Stop h a t i n g and thinking there's some devious plan behind gay couples wanting to have the same rights as straight couples.

[JRsNana]

I want one person who spews out crap like "forcing acceptance of this lifestyle on the rest of us" to explain to me how gay marriage, 1. impacts your life or family in any way, 2. threatens your lifestyle in any way, 3. forces YOU to do ANYTHING????
I don't want another laundry list of GOP talking points or quotes from the Bible. I want well thought out answers that make sense.
Anyone? tr24?

[ignorantwillyharper]

So, what you're saying, another Lickety Spilt bits the dust.

[propitiousmoment]

The article says they split up in 2006, that would be about 2 years after they got married.

[tr24]

That's even more pathetic.

[dutchman]

SwingingfFromCenter,

You know, I feel I've misjudged you after our disagreement about the B of A Super Bowl party. I still disagree with you about that, but I am in complete agreement with you on this post, and appreciate your thoughtful contributions.

Peace,

Dutchman

[SwingingFromCenter]

Further proof that g.ay marriage DOES work and is just like regular marriage!

.....they're just as likely to end up despising each other as any hetero couple :P

[Steamboater]

If it wasn't for the rights that come with marriage, marriage would be as outdated as the republican party.

[Steamboater]

You mean this couple is exactly like so many heterosexual couples? My my.

[Stefano]

This isn't news and I'm surprised to find it here (and not Drudge or something) If we legalize gay marriage, within 10 years I imagine the divorce rates would probably be the same as hetero couples. Peoples are people you know, this just proves that gays are exactly the same as the rest of us, they can love and fall out love just the same. They should be given the same right to a failed marriage as the rest of us, and the 50 % possibiility of a long lasting one at that.

[tr24]

There is no need to legalize this. We see how it ends even amongst the "freedom fighters." At least these two should have stuck it out for the good of the gay community, I guess their "love" wasn't strong enough, eh?

[sukiposeyzena]

Your comment is very mean spirited.

[HC4BO]

Approximately 1 out of 2 marriages ends in a divorce ( ie. if one spouse does not get run over by a Mercedes first ... )

So why should it be a surprise that a certain couple are joining in the festivities ...

[Dystopic]

I was in that Hilton on NASA Road 1 on Clear Lake in Houston when that happened...

didn't see her run him over the first time, but I did see the second time...

[kissmygrits]

holy crap! that's nuts!

[DaBluAce]

give me a break.....you don't run hetero couples threw the ringer when they call it quits....just another typical marriage....some make it some don't

[tr24]

These two were like lab rats for the gay marriage "movement," and they failed, miserably. This is why the story makes the headlines.