Widow Wanted to Share DOMA Win With Her Wife

When 83-year-old Edie Windsor found out this week that she'd won her case, and that the Defense of Marriage Act had been ruled unconstitutional, she wanted so badly to talk to her late widow, Thea Spyer.

"I talked to the pictures," she said. "I walked around saying, 'OK, honey we did it!'"

Windsor is the namesake of Windsor v. United States. She sued after her partner of 44 years died and because the federal government refused to recognize their marriage she was forced to pay more than $360,000 in estate taxes. The couple lived in New York but was legally married in Canada in 2007, and a documentary about them titled A Very Long Engagement was released in 2010. (Read more about the ruling here.)

Watch the video below from the American Civil Liberties Union, which backed her case in court, to hear Windsor describe her reaction to the landmark ruling.