Actors Porsch Apiwat, Arm Sappanyoo among first to marry after same-sex marriage legalization in Thailand
Same-sex marriage is officially legal in Thailand, and among the first couples to embrace this newfound freedom are Thai celebrities Porsch Apiwat and Arm Sappanyoo.
On Instagram, Arm shared a series of snaps featuring the romantic event coinciding with the first day of equal marriage in the country.
"First day of equal marriage in Thailand, we are now official and legal Husband and Husband," the caption read.
In a separate post, Arm uploaded a video offering a glimpse of their wedding ceremony, attended by their nearest and dearest from the industry. The video also showed how they officially received their marriage certificates.
"Finally LOVE wins. [Jan. 23,2025] Today is a historical and remarkable day that we are finally allowed to LOVE, be LOVED, and to build our own family in our own way," he wrote.
The couple were engaged in 2014 after being together for 16 years.
They starred in the 2022 series Ai Long Nhai and the Caged Again in 2024.
Alongside Porsch and Arm, hundreds of same-sex couples tied the knot in Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 23, becoming by far the largest nation in Asia to allow equal marriage.
A mass LGBTQ+ wedding in the capital, organized by campaign group Bangkok Pride with city authorities, expects hundreds of marriage registrations as the law comes into effect.
The kingdom's same-sex marriage bill was passed in a historic parliamentary vote last June, making it the third country in Asia to do so after Taiwan and Nepal.
The law on marriage now uses gender-neutral terms in place of "men," "women," "husbands," and "wives," and also grants adoption and inheritance rights to same-sex couples.
More than 30 countries around the world have legalized marriage for all since the Netherlands became the first to allow same-sex unions in 2001. These include Belgium, Spain, Argentina, and the United States. (with reports from AFP)
