The number of same-sex marriages in Lincolnshire doubled between 2017 and 2023 according to new data.
A record 101 such marriages took place across the county in 2023, according to Office for National Statistics figures. That was up from 79 the previous year and from less than 50 in 2017.
Experts suggest the increase is down to several reasons including more accepting public opinion and a backlog catch up after legalisation in 2014.
Dave Smith, who married his husband in 2023, said: “It’s promising knowing that the number is increasing, as it normalises such relationships more and more.”
The 36-year-old, who is content and campaigns manager at Mobilize Financial Services, added: “The age at which same sex people feel accepted is gradually decreasing, meaning that each year there is a larger group of same-sex young people who would consider marriage as an option.
“There is also still a backlog of people who would have married earlier, had it been legal.”
Same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales with the introduction of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, that gained royal assent in July 2013.
The first marriages followed on March 29, 2014, with 4,850 taking place that year – with 36 of those in Lincolnshire alone.
Some 647 same-sex marriages have taken place here in the decade since with female partners accounting for 62.1 per cent of those, and males 37.9 per cent.
