Pride And Joy: The Romantic And Dramatic History Of Gay Weddings On Daytime Soaps

Daytime first same-sex wedding took place over Valentine's Day in 2009 on All My Children. The brides were Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel, r.) and Reese Williams (Tamara Braun). Since their nuptials would not have been recognized legally in Pine Valley, PA, the brides said, "I do" to a Connecticut ceremony. Dressed in flowing gowns and clutching matching red bouquets, they pledged their troth. At the conclusion of the wedding, the officiant noted, "Legend holds that the nuptial kiss unleashes great power in heaven and on Earth. We shall now rock the universe. You may each kiss the bride." In 2018, Braun told Soap Opera Digest, "Being part of the first same-sex couple on TV who got married was an honor and meant a great deal to me. I believe that all people should have the right to love and be married if it is what they desire. Love is love."

It was not love that joined One Life to Live's Dorian Lord (Robin Strasser) together with Amelia Bennett (Tia Dionne Hodge) in 2009. Dorian was engaged in a tight race for mayor of Llanview against her perennial rival, Viki Banks, and in order to sway liberal voters to her side, she asked her ex-husband David Vickers, her campaign manager, to pretend he was gay. He refused, so Dorian hired Amelia to replace him. At a press conference, Amelia announced that she was a lesbian, and reporters accused Dorian of exploiting her staffer. Ms. Lord then declared that she and Amelia were engaged. At a mass commitment ceremony, the two were promised to one another. Dorian won the election by default after Viki withdrew from the race, but at the swearing-in ceremony, she was arrested for signing documents legalizing same-sex marriage. After being released from jail, Dorian planned to legalize the union, but learned that Amelia and her psychic lover, Madame Delphina, had reunited, so she tore up their marriage license.

In 2014, Will Horton (Guy Wilson, l.) and Sonny Kiriakis (Freddie Smith) said, “I do” on Days of Our Lives. The ceremony, which was the first same-sex male wedding on daytime, was officiated by Will's grandmother, Marlena (Deidre Hall). The grooms were escorted by their mothers, Sami and Adrienne, as they made their way down the aisle, and their fathers each provided touching sentiments (Sonny's dad, Justin: “Sonny can handle anything on his own, but his mother and I are so glad that now he doesn’t have to”; Will's dad, Lucas: “It’s not the kind of life that I envisioned for my son when he was growing up, but it is better than anything I could have ever asked for”), and Caroline, Will's paternal great grandmother, shared a memory of male friends of hers who years ago had been forced to deny their love for each other. Vows were then exchanged, with Will musing, "I never really thought about my future very much. It felt like my own skin was a coat that was too heavy. And even when I came out, it wasn't as though the coat suddenly fit. It was more like I finally understood why it never would. I didn't believe I'd ever find any kind of love, let alone the love that I've found with you. E.M. Forster once described love as 'two imperfect souls coming together to create something close to perfection.' That's how I've felt since the day that I met you." Once the ceremony was complete, Marlena declared Will and Sonny husband and husband as the guests broke into applause. Smith told Soap Opera Digest that the wedding was "very sweet. You see how much they genuinely love each other. This is all Sonny has ever wanted, to be married. It's a moment that he's been looking forward to his entire life. It means more to him than anything else in the world. It's his big dream and it's coming true."  

General Hospital held its first gay wedding in 2016, featuring lovebirds Lucas Jones (then-Ryan Carnes, l.) and his beloved, Brad Cooper (Parry Shen). The ceremony was held at the home of Lucas's birth father, Julian Jerome (William deVry), and his then-wife, Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn, far r.) after the grooms had been forced to postpone their nuptials due to the fact that Brad was already married (to Rosalie Martinez; they'd tied the knot so they couldn't be forced to testify against one another, for reasons that were never explained) and then because Lucas had been rendered comatose after being injected with Derisifol. Once Lucas recovered and a divorce was procured, the wedding was back on. As Brad, Julian, Lucas's sister Carly (Laura Wright) and his adoptive mom, Bobbie (Jacklyn Zeman), looked on, Brad told Lucas, "I was a confused and shallow person when we first met. Misguided, sneaky, promiscuous, even cruel at times. But somehow, in one night that began on barstools, you reached deep inside and found my best self. And slowly over the next few months, you straightened me out, so to speak." As part of his own vows, Lucas replied, "Brad, before we met on those barstools, I was aimless and adrift, afraid to practice medicine, afraid to take risks, afraid to love for fear that I would fail. But your swagger gave me confidence. Your coolness gave me warmth. And your cockiness astonished me. But you did this. You are why we are here today. You took big chances. You made big gestures. You handed your heart to me when I couldn't do the same for you."

In 2017, two years after Will was seemingly murdered at the hands of the Necktie Killer, Ben Weston, his widower, Sonny, planned to marry Paul (Christopher Sean) in a double wedding with Chad DiMera and Abigail Deveraux. During the ceremony, however, Ben burst into the church and made the shocking claim that Will was actually alive! Sonny tried to shake it off, but after flashing back to his love story with Will, he halted the proceedings, telling Paul that he loves him and wants to marry him, but he couldn't go through with the wedding until he knew for sure if what Ben was saying about Will was true. With that, he bolted from the church.

In 2019, Sonny and Will (who was, indeed, alive) had reunited on Days of Our Lives, but there was a human-sized obstacle standing in the way of their happily-ever-after — and he went by the name Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart). Leo set Sonny up to look guilty of sexual harassment, and during a heated confrontation between Leo, Will and Sonny, it appeared as though Sonny had accidentally killed Leo. When Leo turned up alive, he used the circumstances surrounding his presumed demise to blackmail Sonny into marrying him. Sheila (Tionne Watkins) officiated, intoning, "By the power vested in me by the Church of Humanistic Spiritualism, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss the groom." "That's gonna be a hard pass," grumbled Sonny. Leo kissed Sonny anyway, and Sonny barely concealed his disgust as he wiped off his mouth.

Craig Wesley (Kevin Spirtas) came out as gay later in life and split from wife Nancy on Days of Our Lives. He then planned to make it official with his new beau — Leo! Leo and Craig decided to share their 2022 ceremony with Leo's good friend Gwen Rizchech and her fiancé, Xander Cook. At the double wedding, just as Justin was in the midst of declaring Craig and Leo husband and husband, Chad interrupted to reveal that Leo was already married — to drag queen Jackie Cox, also known as Darius Rose! Leo explained that he had tied the knot with Darius to help him procure a green card. Darius then exposed that Leo had only gotten together with Craig to bilk him out of his money. Leo protested that while their relationship had started out as a scam, he had genuinely fallen in love with Craig, but the damage was done, and Craig called the whole thing off.

In 2022 on Young and Restless, Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes, l.) wed the woman of her dreams, Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks). The ceremony was officiated by the couple's dear friend Kyle Abbott, who proclaimed, "Weddings are generally solemn occasions. Two people proclaiming their love and commitment to each other in a very public forum requires some seriousness, after all. And while Tessa and Mariah take their commitment to each other very seriously, this wedding will be the funkiest, grooviest, most bad-ass wedding you’ve ever been to." As they began their personal vows, Tessa said, "I knew today would be the happiest day of my life, because it was the day that we begin our married life together." She confessed, "I never thought I would be here, because I had given up on love and everything that comes with it. But you broke down all my walls. You saw all of me." Mariah marveled, "Even though I have wanted this for so long, I cannot believe that we are actually here. Growing up, wishes like this just didn’t come true for me... Tessa, I am so grateful that you are in my life. And I swear you are magic. You are like an alchemist — everything you touch turns to gold. And so here we are, committing our lives to each other, about to start our own family, and I know that that’s gonna be golden, too."

The newest husbands on Days of Our Lives, Andrew Donovan (Colton Little, l.) and Paul, tied the knot in June 2025. On the morning of the ceremony, Andrew presented Paul with a poignant gift (via Marlena): the wristwatch that belonged to Paul's recently deceased father, John Black. Eric officiated the wedding, during which the grooms exchanged personal vows. Declared Paul, "My mother used to say, ‘few words, speak truth,’ and I love you, Andrew. That is my truth. That is my vow to love you always for a long time. Fear kept me from being honest, from being happy, and whole. But with you, I am both."