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Expansion of marriage rights to same-sex couples also expanded access to psychological benefits

Marriage and the ability to start a family are . Ten years ago, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case to marry to same-sex couples.

With of Americans identifying as LGBTQ+, this decision continues to have an impact beyond legal benefits.

Marriage provides unique advantages—a reality we have come to know as . The right to marry allowed same-sex couples the opportunity to experience these advantages.

Benefits of a healthy marriage

Although evidence largely comes from different-sex couples, psychology research documents the numerous benefits healthy marriage confers on well-being. Married people experience . They also have many advantages, such as being more likely to or . seem to benefit as well.

A healthy marriage brings benefits that are distinct even from what couples in long-term relationships experience. Those who are married have , such as and than people in nonmarital romantic relationships, .

Not surprisingly, the benefits of being married . The effects of marriage on physical well-being, life satisfaction, depression and mental health more broadly depend on , and so do outcomes for .

What's so special about marriage?

What makes a happy marriage different from a happy cohabiting, stable relationship when it comes to well-being? Social scientists don't know, but there are a few theories.

The one with the most empirical support involves a concept from physics called . Applied in relationship science, inertia describes the idea that a relationship will remain the same or continue moving along the same trajectory unless some outside force acts upon it.

As relationships progress, they naturally gain momentum. Partners invest more into their relationship over time. They exchange gifts, meet each others' friends, and start staying at each others' homes. Eventually, a natural step in this progression is either cohabitation or marriage.

Marriage is a milestone, marking a new stage in life. Deciding to get married is a long-term commitment that often takes years of planning. Cohabitation, on the other hand, is due to the forward trajectory of a relationship. Cohabitors tend to stay together less as an intentional choice but for convenience.

The intentional lifelong commitment of marriage may explain why it offers than cohabitation.

10 years of same-sex marriage

As more same-sex couples have married, are they seeing the same marriage benefits that other-sex couples always had? Research on the topic is only just beginning. Still, there is some preliminary evidence that they are.

In a , respondents with same-sex spouses largely felt closer to their partner and more satisfied with life in general after getting married. Findings from one research study indicate that married same-sex couples see greater benefits to than do same-sex couples in registered domestic partnerships. Another study on same-sex relationships found that marriage was linked to than cohabitation.

As for children of same-sex parents, they do as those with other-sex parents. There's not much data yet on the impact on kids of same-sex parents divorcing.

Do marriage benefits differ for same-sex couples?

The happiness of same- and other-sex relationships is largely , but there are two key differences: gender composition of the couple and stress from discrimination.

In other-sex relationships, women tend to fall into . Same-sex couples are free from traditional male-female gender dynamics, allowing more of a balance of power. For instance, they have a more even division of , and partners have a more equal say when . Greater equality may improve the quality of same-sex relationships.

The other distinguishing feature of same-sex couples is that their relationships are by discrimination, a . In research done mostly on different-sex couples, even support from a partner the downstream effects of discrimination and—as is the case with other —c²¹²Ô .

Societal disapproval may lead someone to internalize negative ideas about their own sexuality and relationship. In other words, buying into society's message that one's relationship is morally wrong harms their own and consequently their . Psychology researchers theorize that standing in the way of same-sex couples experiencing the full benefits of marriage.

More societal acceptance post-Obergefell

As an increasing number of U.S. states, and eventually the federal government, legalized same-sex marriage, greater . In 2025, 67% of LGBTQ+ adults agree that the country has of same-sex couples due to the legalization of same-sex marriage.

This trend is not unique to the U.S. Around the world, countries where same-sex marriage is legal tend to have a higher percentage of the population say they . Although the causal direction is opaque, evidence from multiple countries indicates that same-sex marriage bans of LGBTQ+ people, while legal recognition fosters societal approval. for same-sex couples, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of marriage.

Although societal acceptance in the United States has over the past couple of decades, it is important to note that still strongly oppose same-sex marriage. Legalization was a major step, but it has by no means eliminated discrimination altogether.