Days of our Lives gay couple wed to mark 10th anniversary of equal marriage
Christopher Sean and Colton Little’s characters’ wedding will on Days of Our Lives will celebrate marriage equality (Getty)
Christopher Sean and Colton Little's characters' wedding will on Days of Our Lives will celebrate marriage equality (Getty)
The long-running American soap opera Days of Our Lives has aired a gay wedding to mark the 10th anniversary of nationwide marriage equality in the United States.
Paul Narita and Andrew Donovan, played by Christopher Sean and Colton Little respectively, tied the knot on screen in a Days of Our Lives episode that aired on Monday (23 June).
In the US, nationwide marriage equality was achieved on 26 June 2015 after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges legalised gay marriage in all 50 states.
Little, who is gay, told The Advocate that playing Donovan is “something I never imagined as a kid”.
Remembering the stigma directed at people like Ellen DeGeneres, who came out publicly in 1997, he said: “I think now more than ever, it’s amazing that we’re still telling these stories. It’s really important”.
Little also said, “I couldn’t hide who I am. Being authentic is the most powerful thing I can do,” the actor said.
Sean spoke similarly about the power of representation, telling The Advocate that playing his character “helped me understand how unfair it is not to be able to just be yourself.
“After seeing the impact, messages from fans saying ‘That’s me,’ I understood the importance of telling this story honestly”.
The pair also touched on the response they had from fans of the show, with Little sharing one story from a Pride event in Washington DC in 2024.
“People told me, ‘You’re my lifeline. Seeing your love story made me feel safe.’ Some were closeted and living in conservative places, and they had to sneak away just to meet us. Their courage, their stories moved me to tears,” Little said.
Sean said he tried to read every message he got from fans online. “If someone’s in danger, I say: Stay safe. But as soon as you can, find your community. You deserve to live fully as yourself,” he told the LGBTQ+ publication.
The 10th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling comes amid growing fears that it may be overturned following Trump’s appointment of several conservative justices to the bench since 2017.
After repealing Roe vs. Wade in 2022 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas indicated precedents like Obergefell v. Hodges as well as Lawrence V. Texas should be “reconsidered”.
Thomas said in a concurring opinion to the one regarding Roe vs. Wade that “any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous’”. He then said there is “a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents”.
However, the passing of the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022 gave greater protection to same-sex marriage in the US.
