Isle of Man Celebrates First Heterosexual Civil Partnership
The Isle of Man celebrated its first opposite-sex civil partnership last week.
Adeline Cosson and Kieran Hodgson's small ceremony took place in the capital, Douglas.
It's the first heterosexual civil partnership to take place in the British Isles, too.
In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, civil partnerships are only offered to same-sex couples.
And among same-sex couples in the UK, they're becoming less popular. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently released figures showing a sharp decline in civil partnerships across England and Wales for 2015.
Marriage is now far more popular with same-sex couples.
So, it'll be interesting to see how many heterosexual couples in the Isle of Man choose civil partnership over marriage.
Same-sex couples on the Isle of Man have the same choice as heterosexual couples: civil partnership or marriage.
For Adeline Cosson and Kieran Hodgson, the decision to have a civil partnership was more practical than you might imagine. They intend on getting married at a later date but prefer the legal protection and security of a civil partnership in the meantime.
It’s a shrewd move as cohabiting, unmarried couples have far fewer legal rights.
We’d like to wish Adeline and Kieran many happy years together as civil partners. It’ll be interesting to see how many more heterosexual couples follow their lead.