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| Nathan and Lukas Trayte |
Lukas needed a change.
He was in a stormy relationship and had been chatting with Nathan for months on
the social networking app Grindr. So when Lukas broke up with his boyfriend, he
moved to Florida to start a new life. But it didn’t last long. After just a
month, he returned to Ohio and moved into Nathan’s house in Berea. Now, six
years later, the two live in Cleveland Heights and wed July 10 in Ohio before hosting a
private wedding ceremony in Puerto Vallarta July 30. We spoke to them about the
importance of family and the benefits of finally being able to publicly
announce their love for one another.
Nathan: I spent many years trying to be straight. I had
previously been engaged to a woman. So, I had kind of a mental block with the
whole marriage thing. Coming out of what would have been a sham wedding, I just
had a hard time wrapping my head around that. I knew Lukas was the right person, and even then it still took a while. The winter after we had moved to
[Cleveland Heights], we had a house, we were living this life together. It
finally clicked. Lukas is fiercely protective, not only of me, but of our
family unit. I know that he always has my back.
Lukas: I wear the pants in the relationship, but he’s the
belt that holds them up. He’s never held me back from anything. I’ve always
admired the fact that he is so family-oriented. My parents came up with my
sisters and all their kids right after Thanksgiving last year. I pretty much
said, “You either want a relationship or not. Nathan and I are getting married.
I want you to meet him. I want you to see where we live.” I frantically
decorated the house for Christmas. I got it done an hour before they showed up.
It was important to me. You want your parents to accept who you’re with, and
they accepted my brothers-in-law. Well, I found someone and I want to show him
off too. I always wanted to get married. I wanted a family. I wanted kids. — as told to James Bigley II
Editor’s Note: In the September issue of Cleveland Magazine, we interviewed 10 same-sex couples that were engaged or married following the June 26 Supreme Court decision. Check back every Wednesday for more stories through Sept. 30. For all the stories in this series, click here.
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