Pride Month: A Love Letter from the LGBTQ+ Couples of {THE AND}

Over the years of making {THE AND}, we have sat with thousands of love stories. The ones that move us most are not always the loudest or the most certain. Sometimes they are the ones still figuring it out, carrying old wounds into new rooms, choosing to show up anyway. Here are a few that stayed with us.

Aamir & Amir: Can Love Keep Growing After 10 Years?

Aamir and Amir brought everything into the room: humor, history, and a tenderness that has been earned over years of showing up for each other through the hard stuff. Amir is a drag queen and comedian, sharp and warm and full of life. But underneath all of that is someone who grew up in a home that was not safe, who was eventually kicked out by his family for being gay, and who has spent years unpacking what that kind of early rejection does to a person. In one of the most quietly devastating moments of their conversation, Amir shares something his therapist once asked him, a question he has carried ever since and still cannot fully answer.

"The question my therapist asked me was, do you think you were ever loved? And that is a question I refuse to answer to this day." — Amir

What makes this moment so powerful is what surrounds it. Amir describes growing up thinking he knew what love was, only to realize the environment was toxic, abusive, and ultimately unwilling to accept who he was. He was kicked out, maxed out every credit card, found a flat with no sofa to sit on. And the person who put his arm around him through all of it was Aamir. There is so much grief in this conversation, and so much warmth too. Both things sitting side by side, held together by two people who chose each other.

Blake & Gina: You're So Easy To Love

Blake and Gina came into each other's lives from completely different worlds, different cultures, different ways of communicating and being known. Gina has sat with the quiet grief of navigating a culture where queerness is rarely embraced, and a family dynamic that has not always had the tools to fully see her. She speaks about it with a generosity that is both moving and heartbreaking.

"It's not a lack of love. I just wish that they had the capacity, the tools to really see me." — Gina

Blake carries that alongside her, not to fix it, but to witness it. What they are building is something they are both still learning, and that honesty is the whole point. Their love is teaching them how to love themselves more too, and that comes through in every exchange.

José & Thomas: Can Love Last Beyond the Honeymoon?

José is a widowed father who had come to believe his family was complete. Then Thomas came into their lives, and what felt whole became something even greater. Thomas speaks with rare honesty about navigating faith and queer identity, the weight of a Christian upbringing that still sits with him, and what it means to be in a relationship he has not yet fully reconciled with his beliefs. It is not a resolved story. It is an honest one.

For José, what has shifted is the definition of love itself. Not the rush of something new, but something deeper and more daily. And when José describes what Thomas brought into their family, it is impossible not to feel it.

"I thought our family felt complete before until you came into the picture. And it made me realize, now it's good, now it's complete. Now it feels abundant." — José

Ellie & TJ: The Right Person at the Right Time

Ellie and TJ found each other at the exact moment they were both ready, though neither quite expected it. TJ, a trans man, describes the relief of coming out to Ellie early on and being met with warmth and zero weirdness.

What grew from that first honest moment became a relationship that has carried them both through grief, through loss, and through the ongoing reality of what it means to be trans in a world that does not always make space for it. TJ does not minimize what that reality looks like. But he also knows exactly what he has.

"Even as the world was against people like me, you make me feel so safe. I've got our home and family and I've got you." — TJ

Thank You to Our Queer Community

Every one of these conversations is different. There is something that happens when people choose to be truly honest with each other, something that is hard to put into words but impossible to look away from. To every couple who sat down, opened up, and trusted us with their story, thank you. We do not take that lightly. These conversations are why we do what we do.

Celebrate Queer Joy With Us

If these conversations sparked something in you, we made something for your community too. The {THE AND} x GLAAD Queer Joy Special Edition is a digital card deck created in partnership with GLAAD, with 50 questions designed for LGBTQ+ folks and their loved ones to connect, laugh, and go deeper together.

Not through heavy conversations, but through moments of lightness, joy, and real understanding. Play with your partner, your best friend, or your chosen family. All you need is your people.

With love,
Luana Costa
The Skin Deep Head of Social Media & Community