'Did I ever really know him?': the women who married gay men | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND
• GAYS AND LBIANS HAVE DIFFERENT REASONS TO GET MARRIED, STUDY SAYS
• WHY DO GAY MEN MARRY WOMEN: A COMPREHENSIVE EXPLANATN
• ‘HONEY, I’VE GOT A SECRET’ : WHEN GAY MEN E OUT TO THEIR WIV
• 'DID I EVER REALLY KNOW HIM?': THE WOMEN WHO MARRIED GAY MEN
• STRAIGHT WOMEN AND THEIR GAY HBANDS
• SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE FALLY UNLOCKED PUZZLE OF WHY PEOPLE ARE GAY

IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND

Hodg legalized gay marriage natnwi, cludg the 14 stat that did not prevly allow gays and lbians to wed. Adults (37%) favored allowg gays and lbians to wed 2009, a share that rose to 62% 2017.

GAYS AND LBIANS HAVE DIFFERENT REASONS TO GET MARRIED, STUDY SAYS

For stance, 45% of adults the Silent Generatn (those born between 1928 and 1945) favor allowg gays and lbians to wed, pared wh 74% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).

4As wh the general public, Amerins who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (LGBT) are most likely to ce love as a very important reason for gettg married. Is among 29 untri and jurisdictns that allow gay and lbian upl to wed. The first natn to legalize gay marriage was the Netherlands, which did so 2000.

WHY DO GAY MEN MARRY WOMEN: A COMPREHENSIVE EXPLANATN

Sce then, several other European untri – cludg England and Wal, France, Ireland, all of Sndavia, Spa and, most recently, Atria, Germany and Malta – have legalized gay marriage.

And May 2019, Taiwan beme the first untry Asia to allow gays and lbians to legally wed.

‘HONEY, I’VE GOT A SECRET’ : WHEN GAY MEN E OUT TO THEIR WIV

Like heterosexuals, many lbian, gay, and bisexual people want to form stable, long-lastg relatnships and many of them do.

In fact, rearchers have found that the majory of lbian, and gay, adults are mted relatnships and many upl have been together 10 or more years. Empiril rearch also shows that lbian and gay upl have levels of relatnship satisfactn siar to or higher than those of heterosexual upl.

How do laws that lim marriage to heterosexuals affect gay and lbian people? The fai and iends of lbian and gay upl who are nied marriage rights may also experience negative physil and mental health nsequenc siar to those experienced by their loved on. The vast majory of scientific studi that have directly pared lbian and gay parents wh heterosexual parents have nsistently shown that the same-sex upl are as f and pable parents as heterosexual upl, and that their children are jt as psychologilly healthy and well adjted.

'DID I EVER REALLY KNOW HIM?': THE WOMEN WHO MARRIED GAY MEN

Sometim a woman may have been a heterosexual relatnship for years and yet feel somethg is somehow "off;" and she may fd herself askg, "Is my hband gay? " Many women fd this qutn unthkable but acrdg to Bonnie Kaye,, an expert women married to gay men, is timated that 4 ln women have been, or are, married to gay men.

STRAIGHT WOMEN AND THEIR GAY HBANDS

If a hband is gay, n vastate not only the relatnship but the straight wife as well. Signs of a Gay Hband – Is My Man Gay? The cleart way to know if your hband is gay is if he tells you.

If the hband is hont wh both you and wh himself (read: How Do I Know If I Am Gay?

SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE FALLY UNLOCKED PUZZLE OF WHY PEOPLE ARE GAY

Signs You Are Gay), that is when you n tly know that he is gay.

Unfortunately, is timated that 50% of gay hbands hi their homosexualy om their wiv and don't reach this place of honty on their own. In many s, is the wife, who after spectg that somethg is wrong, mt nont the gay hband wh the evince, and only then n hontly be achieved. But if you're wonrg, "Is my man gay, " might be helpful to know that there are signs to look for, acrdg to Kaye.

Kaye has veloped the Official Gay Hband Checklist to help women know if their hbands are gay.