Gay Hollywood star Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates (R) united in a ‘lavender marriage’ in the 1950s (Getty)
Gay Hollywood star Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates (R) united in a ‘lavender marriage’ in the 1950s (Getty)
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey have delighted fans with their latest steamy photoshoot, with Cynthia Erivo joking that they are in a “lavender marriage.”
The pair recently posed for Wonderland magazine in an array of stylish outfits, channelling the on-screen chemistry they shared as the star-crossed lovers Elphaba and Fiyero in the hit movie. Both stars are LGBTQ+ – Erivo describes her sexuality as queer and bisexual, and Jonathan Bailey is gay.
Fans praised the smouldering shoot on Instagram, where a gallery of their photos has had almost two million likes so far, with one writing, “Ok the hottest post to ever exist? I’m fine, everyone’s fine.”
And that fan wasn’t the only one to call the photos sexy: Cynthia Erivo herself reposted one to her Instagram story, describing their pairing as “the sexiest lavender marriage in history.”
However, her comment seemed to confuse a few fans, as it led to a spike in Google searches for “what is a lavender marriage”, as people tried to make sense of what she’d said.
This is what “lavender marriage” means
A lavender marriage is a term that describes a wedding, usually between a man and a woman, in which one or both partners are LGBTQ+, with the entire relationship only existing to conceal their sexual orientation.
They were particularly common in the early to mid 20th-century, when being openly gay could destroy a celebrity’s career. For example, in Hollywood’s “golden era” of the 1940s and 1950s, publicists often arranged lavender marriages to maintain a male star’s “marketable image” as a heartthrob, but queer people who weren’t in the public eye often formed lavender marriages too, for safety, security and a veneer of respectability.
Gay actor Rock Hudson’s 1955 wedding to Phyllis Gates is widely believed to have been a studio-driven attempt to quell speculation about his sexuality, and another often-referenced example is Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli. Several Hollywood historians and biographers have written that Minnelli had relationships with men, particularly before he became a major director at MGM.
Also, actress Rita Hayworth’s marriage to director Orson Welles and the union between actor Cary Grant and heiress Barbara Hutton are sometimes included in discussions of potential lavender marriage.
Obviously Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey aren’t actually in a lavender marriage, they’re both happily paired up with other people.
Cynthia Erivo has been in a relationship with actress, producer and screenwriter Lena Waithe since late 2024. Jonathan Bailey keeps his private life, well, private, but has previously said that his partner is a “lovely man.”