Splitsville for
couple who helped legalize same-sex marriage

Julie and Hillary Goodridge, a couple who helped spur the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, have parted ways, Bay Windows newspaper reports.

The Goodridges were one of the couples who challenged Massachusetts's marriage law in court. The legal battle eventually led to the 2003 state supreme judicial court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the Bay State. The Goodridges were one of the first couples to officially marry when same-sex marriages began taking place in May 2004.

A spokesperson for the couple confirmed the breakup to the newspaper, but it's not clear whether they will divorce or who will have custody of their teenage child.

"What can I say? I'm sad," said Mary Bonauto, the attorney who represented the couple before the supreme judicial court, to Bay Windows. "There's a way in which we all shared their journey." (The Advocate)