mazel tov

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis marries longtime partner in historic first

Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis married his longtime partner Marlon Reis on Wednesday. It was the first ever same-sex wedding of a sitting U.S. governor.

“The greatest lesson we have learned over the past 18 months is that life as we know it can change in an instant,” Polis shared to his Twitter account. “We are thankful for the opportunity to celebrate our life together as a married couple.

“After 18 years together, we couldn’t be happier to be married at last,” he added.

Polis and Reis got engaged in late 2020.

Related: Colorado governor Jared Polis signs new LGBTQ protections into law

Ries broke the news to The Colorado Sun on March 3, 2021. The proposal, however, came at a delicate moment last December: Reis was on his way to the hospital for treatment for a COVID-19 infection.

“I was getting my things ready. My daughter was crying in the corner — she didn’t want me to go,” Reis told the paper. “My son was asking me a lot of technical questions: ‘When are you coming back? Do they know exactly what’s wrong?’ It was a very tense moment.”

Gov. Polis entered the room, urging Reis to hurry up…then suddenly dropped to one knee.

“It was the absolute perfect time,” Reis said. “I said to him, ‘I couldn’t breathe before. Now I really can’t breathe.’”

“It put such a spring in my step,” Reis added. “When I got to the hospital I wasn’t scared anymore. I said ‘I have a great relationship, a great family that I’m going to be coming home to after this.’”

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated