Diane and her life partner Julie Marossy celebrated the first milestone of their new journey on January 3, 2020. Having spent more than thirty years living alongside one another, Derek and Joy were proud to be one of Haringey’s earliest civil partnership couples. This momentous occasion marked the conclusion of an arduous journey. It was a beautiful and palpable thing — their shared experiences and the love they had cultivated over the years shining through.
The couple’s children, aged 28 and 26 at the time, witnessed their parents’ commitment in a ceremony that was both intimate and joyful. The ceremony itself was intimate, held only with immediate family, including my sister’s family and Diane’s sister’s family. So too was Jimmy, an unofficially adopted son. It was the most “joyful” wedding ceremony the registrar had ever performed. Her words spoke perfectly to the joy that pervaded the gathering.
It’s really important to have music there, too, because music is such a huge part of this celebration. The couple chose an uplifting playlist that featured Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” as the first song, followed by Stevie Wonder’s classic “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever).” The ceremony ended on Marvin Gaye’s soulful classic How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). Each note was written personally to the couple and their family and friends.
A cherished photograph from the event, captured by the writer’s older daughter Alix, showcases the familial bonds that were celebrated that day. In this picture, the writer’s younger daughter, Maya, can be seen sitting closely to the writer’s mother, further emphasizing the generational love and support surrounding Diane and her partner.
The couple’s joy was immediately mixed with unforeseen struggles. Just weeks after their civil partnership, the writer fell ill in March, coinciding with a planned celebration party that ultimately had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost immediately after, the whole nation experienced lockdown orders that drastically altered daily life for all Americans.
Their civil partnership had taken place at a very special time. Legislation permitting opposite-sex couples to register for civil partnerships had only recently been passed. This made Diane and her partner one of the first heterosexual couples to embrace this new legal recognition of their relationship in Haringey.