OMG. This is definitely the queer joy I needed.

2 women in a French old people's home got married after being closeted for ages😍😭

"""
That day, during the meal, we were talking about gay marriage. And Liliane and Andrée came to ask us if it was actually possible to do that in real life. They had thought that same-sex marriage was only possible on TV. … We told them it was possible. And a few minutes later, Andrée proposed to Liliane in front of us.
""" (My translation)

https://www.lobservateur.fr/valenciennes-deux-residentes-dun-ehpad-se-marient-apres-avoir-longtemps-vecu-leur-amour-en-secret

Valenciennes. Deux résidentes d’un EHPAD se marient après avoir longtemps vécu leur amour en secret

Ce mardi 15 novembre, deux résidentes de l'EHPAD du Val de l'Escaut se sont mariées après avoir longtemps vécu leur amour en secret.

L'Observateur
@owenblacker oh my goodness! in absolute bits. in a good way. xx
@mariafarrell They'd been a couple SINCE THE AGE OF TWENTY FIVE!!! 😭😭😭
@owenblacker oh man! I just read it out to Ed and we had a bit of a cry. Such a beautiful story - and also so sad, all these years! And their tentative question of 'is equal marriage only for people on tv?' ah! too much. xxx
@mariafarrell That was the line where I lost it
@owenblacker was it a senior home or a home for people with disabilities? I don’t read French but tried to put it through Google Translate and I thought it suggested they had been living there for quite some time …
@Emilyalpertreyes @owenblacker it says it’s a home for the aged and that they’ve lived there since 2017. They seem young at 72, but it doesn’t say anything about disability
@Emilyalpertreyes @owenblacker It's specifically a home for seniors who require daily medical care. When they were young they were in a "foyer de vie" (basically an adult daycare)
@owenblacker @Emilyalpertreyes An EHPAD is a nursing home/care home. There are tiers of care from assisted living to full dependency. These ladies moved in five years ago, so at 70, which I think isn't unheard-of for childless people with some health troubles.
@kkt @owenblacker thanks! Google Translate was confusing me deeply …
@owenblacker I am saving this till I’m in my cabin on my own because obviously I’m going to cry
@owenblacker - thanks so much for sharing. This is perfect.
@owenblacker Book rec for people who are all about this vibe: Bingo Love by Tee Franklin/Jenn St-Onge
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34840092-bingo-love
Bingo Love

Bingo Love is a story of a same-sex romance that spans …

Goodreads
@owenblacker thank you for sharing and translating, I’m not sure my GCSE French would have gone deep enough to understand the beauty of this story #loveislove
@juliacreatesjoy @owenblacker my grandmother was Cajun French. She and I used to speak in French...drove everyone else crazy because they knew we were talking about them, but they didn't know if it was good or bad. Sadly, she quit speaking French when her sister died about 20 years ago.
@jonmarcantel @owenblacker at first her stopping seemed like a shame and then I thought perhaps it was a special bond for the two of them she doesn’t want to share with anyone else and then I saw it could be beautiful too. It’s also beautiful the two of them doing it has given you a second language which meant you could share this story with a Brit without linguistic talent and for that I am grateful 😊
@owenblacker This is incredible, and an important reminder that we young queer people aren't just fighting for our own rights. We're fighting so that our queer parents and grandparents can come out of the closet and live the lives they deserve.
@xelle @owenblacker like the queer vice-versa of elder queer ppl fighting for queer liberation so further generations have it better !
@xelle @owenblacker So many use the consequences of social repression to claim LGBTQ issues are somehow novel. Stories like these are wonderful counterpoints to that tinny argument and also totally heartwarming. Glad that they could declare their love and not pass away as simply two “gal pals” or whatever local euphemisms used for “probably gay but we dunno”
@owenblacker
I don't think you need to be queer to be made joyful by this. I'm so happy for this couple - finally.
@owenblacker OMG this is so adorable. I've sent the article to some friends, thanks for sharing this.
@owenblacker what a beautiful love story :)
@owenblacker I'm a cis straight male and I'm bawling. I want to hug these ladies. 😭❤️
@owenblacker wow wow wow 💖😭💖 so lovely! Thank you for sharing this!!
@owenblacker oh my god, they were roommates
@owenblacker This makes me simultaneously very happy and very sad.

@owenblacker For those who love hearing about elderly queer people getting married, also look up Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel. They met playing baseball in the 40s (in the league that inspired A League of Their Own) and have been together ever since. They married shortly before passing away when it became legal.

There is a documentary about them on Netflix called A Secret Love, it's worth watching to see them, but I'll warn people that it was made by a younger family member so there's a massive bias towards some unreasonable other family members and it's extremely the kind of documentary a straight person makes about queer people (almost all the focus on a dramatic coming out that isn't that dramatic and way less on the interesting parts like an elderly lesbian couple worrying about if they'll have to deal with homophobia in an assisted living community). Doesn't do them justice but it's still great listening to them talk.

@owenblacker The part that pulled most at my heartstrings was that they'd been in love with each other since they were 25 years old!
@owenblacker too cute TOO CUTE ♥️🥰♥️
@owenblacker This is SO beautiful. It makes me want to cry with joy as it brings hope of a better day. I hope that one day I'm as content as these ladies 🥲🥰
@owenblacker "You can do that in real life?? Not just on TV?!" is basically one of the realizations that led to me transitioning 😌​
@owenblacker omg I just read the whole article, now I'm finding it super dusty in this room, lots of inexplicable tears!!!
@owenblacker this is so touching! ❤️
@owenblacker French women always look so stylish
@owenblacker It is never too late! They have known each other since they were 11 years old. Wow!