Gay Marriage Pioneers Split Up

BOSTON, MA -- Julie and Hillary Goodridge, the lesbian couple whose landmark lawsuit helped Massachusetts become the first state in America to allow same-sex couples to marry, have split up.

Boston LGBT newspaper Bay Windows reports that the couple confirmed the breakup through a spokesperson.

GLAAD attorney Mary Bonauto, who represented the couple before the Massachusetts Supreme Court, told the newspaper; "What can I say? I'm sad. There's a way in which we all shared their journey. We shared in their happiness, we shared in their joy at being able to get married."

Julie and Hillary Goodridge and six other gay and lesbian couples sued Massachusetts for the right to marry and won when the state's highest court ruled in their favor in 2003. More than 8,000 same-sex couples have married since the ban fell.

Julie and Hillary Goodridge married on May 17, 2004, the first day same-sex couples were allowed to wed.

The couple has not filed for divorce.