After 30 Years and Two Kids, a Couple Finally 'Got Civilled'

Simon Hattenstone and his partner Diane Taylor had been together for more than three decades. They had two adult children and never wanted to marry. To them, marriage felt too traditional, even like "tempting fate." They always said they would have a civil partnership if it became legal for heterosexual couples. That day came. On January 3, 2020, they became one of the first opposite-sex couples in their London borough to form a civil partnership. Friends thought it was for financial security. The couple says there was an element of that. But the main reason was romance. After 30 years, they wanted to officially celebrate their commitment. "It actually felt really romantic," says Hattenstone. "Tying the civil knot as an expression of love after all this time together." The celebration was timely. Their "beautiful day" happened just weeks before the global shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.