Why Every Lesbian Needs to Watch Edie & Thea (2009)

Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement – The Lesbian Love Story That Waited 40 Years for “I Do”

Hey queens, grab your tea (or wine, no judgment), because today I need to scream from the rooftops about one of the most beautiful lesbian documentaries ever made: Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009). If you haven’t seen it yet, stop everything and add it to your watchlist right now. Seriously.

This little gem follows Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer, two absolute icons of lesbian love, who met in the 1960s in New York City—back when being openly gay could get you arrested, fired, or worse. They fell madly in love, got engaged in 1967 (Thea gave Edie a diamond brooch instead of a ring so she wouldn’t get beaten up at work—my heart), and then… waited. And waited. Forty-two years, to be exact.

Forty. Two. Years.

They built an incredible life together—dancing, traveling the world, throwing fabulous parties, facing Thea’s multiple sclerosis together with so much grace it hurts—while the world told them their love didn’t deserve the word “marriage.” Watching them laugh, bicker, hold hands, and just be so blatantly in love after decades together? It’s the kind of lesbian relationship goals we all secretly (or not so secretly) dream about.

The film is packed with old home videos, photos, and the couple telling their own story in their own words. Edie’s wit is sharp as ever, and Thea—God, Thea—is pure sunshine even while living with MS. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (multiple times), and you’ll probably want to call your girlfriend and tell her you love her immediately.

And yes, before you ask: this is the same Edie Windsor who later took her fight all the way to the Supreme Court in 2013 and basically helped kill DOMA, paving the way for nationwide marriage equality in the U.S. The woman was a legend in sneakers.

What makes this documentary hit different for us as lesbians is how normal their love feels. No tragedy porn, no “bury your gays” trope—just two women who chose each other every single day for over four decades. In a world that still tries to make us feel like our relationships are less real, less valid, or less lasting, Edie and Thea are living proof that lesbian love can be the most stubborn, beautiful, long-lasting thing on the planet.

If you’re in a new relationship, watch it and feel inspired. If you’ve been with your girl for years, watch it and feel seen. If you’re single, watch it and remember that the kind of love worth having is absolutely out there—and it’s worth waiting for.

Stream it, buy it, pirate it if you’re broke (we’ve all been there), whatever—just watch it. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement isn’t just a documentary. It’s a love letter to every lesbian who ever had to hide, wait, or fight for the right to call their partner “wife.”

And in 2025, when we can actually get married in so many places… we owe women like Edie and Thea everything.

So yeah. Go watch it. Cry with me. Then come back and tell me your favorite moment in the comments. I need more lesbian tears of joy in my life.

Happy watching, babes.

(And yes, I still tear up every single time Thea says “We made it, kid.” Every. Single. Time.)