--- description: Recently retired bishop Gene Robinson announced his divorce from long-time partner Mark Andrew. title: First Openly Gay Anglican Bishop Gene Robinson to Divorce image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc18d82bde7225018/69868dc0adae445e3a542e76/137652544.jpg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # First Openly Gay Anglican Bishop Announces Divorce  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 1:42 PM CUT  Bishop Gene Robinson Bishop Gene RobinsonLarry Busacca—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 4, 2014 1:42 PM CUT Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Anglican bishop, is divorcing his partner and husband of 25 years, [he announced](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/04/a-bishop-s-decision-to-divorce.html "undefined") Sunday. In a post on _The Daily Beast_ explaining his decision, the recently-retired Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire said he still believes in the importance of marriage even as he separates from Mark Andrew. Robinson and Andrew entered into a civil union in 2008 and married in 2010 after New Hampshire legalized same-sex marriage, [CBS reports](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-openly-gay-anglican-bishop-divorcing-husband/ "undefined"). In 2003, Robinson was elected the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican church, a move that caused many conservative Episcopalians to break from the church. “It is at least a small comfort to me, as a gay rights and marriage equality advocate, to know that like any marriage, gay and lesbian couples are subject to the same complications and hardships that afflict marriages between heterosexual couples,” [he wrote](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/04/a-bishop-s-decision-to-divorce.html "undefined"). “All of us sincerely intend, when we take our wedding vows, to live up to the ideal of ’til death do us part.’ But not all of us are able to see this through until death indeed parts us.” \[[_The Daily Beast_](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/04/a-bishop-s-decision-to-divorce.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/87032/gay-bishop-divorce/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/87032/gay-bishop-divorce/"},"headline":"First Openly Gay Anglican Bishop Announces Divorce","datePublished":"2014-05-04T13:42:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:38:36.059Z","description":"Recently-retired bishop Gene Robinson has opened up about his divorce from long-time partner Mark Andrew, whom he married after New Hampshire legalized gay marriage in 2010. Robinson was elected the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican church in 2003","url":"https://time.com/87032/gay-bishop-divorce/","keywords":["Gay Marriage","Religion","faith"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc18d82bde7225018/69868dc0adae445e3a542e76/137652544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc18d82bde7225018/69868dc0adae445e3a542e76/137652544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Love Free Or Die\" Portraits - 2012 Sundance Film Festival","caption":"\"Love Free Or Die\" Portraits - 2012 Sundance Film Festival","creditText":"Larry Busacca—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/87032/gay-bishop-divorce/","name":"First Openly Gay Anglican Bishop Announces Divorce"}}]}] ```