George Michael
said Tuesday that he and his longtime partner will make
their relationship official under new British legislation
offering gays many of the legal protections available
to married couples. "I'm sure Kenny
[Goss] and I will be doing the old legal thing, but we
won't be doing the whole veil-and-gown
thing," Michael said at a screening of a
documentary about his career. "It'll be
relatively soon after it comes in, probably early next
year."
The legislation
creating civil partnerships becomes effective December 5.
The singer said he and Goss, who have been a couple for
nearly 10 years, planned a "small, private
ceremony."
"I'm not very romantic about it, to be
honest," he said. "I think Kenny
probably would be if I let him, but it's just not
me." The Civil Partnerships Bill passed by
parliament last year gives same-sex couples the right
to form legally binding partnerships and entitles them to
some of the same tax and pension rights married
couples have. "We want to do it, just in
case," Michael said. "You never know, I could
get hit by a bus, and the poor man could have
nothing." (AP)