What a couple! Pete & Chasten Buttigieg are featured on the cover of TIME magazine
They’re the first same-sex couple to pose together on the cover since an issue dedicated to equal marriage in 2013.
The latest TIME magazine features Maltese-American presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg alongside his hubby, Chasten! The May 13 issue cover reflects on the youngest presidential candidate in American history's rise in the polls, with a headline reading: “First Family: The unlikely, untested and unprecedented campaign of Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”
In his interview, Pete spoke about his time in the armed forces before coming out as gay, often hearing homophobic comments from fellow officers. Many have since reached out to express their support. “I bet some of them still go back and tell gay jokes because that’s their habit, you know? Bad habits and bad instincts is not the same as people being bad people.”
Pete added that he wholeheartedly believes in the “power of redemption and forgiveness” after seeing “once-disapproving parents dance at their gay son’s wedding and homophobic military officers take back their words.” Pete is the first openly gay presidential candidate, and from near obscurity, has climbed the polls running alongside more established candidates and only behind Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
Chasten, Pete's husband, also comments about becoming homeless after coming out to his conservative parents. “Being gay was not culturally acceptable where I grew up, mostly for a lack of understanding, and so my family and I were just at a crossroads, and we didn’t really know how to talk to one another,” said the 29-year-old prospective first First Gentlemen. His parents have, since then, changed their minds, and have welcomed their son back and fully support his marriage.
While the focus has certainly been on the fact that Pete and Chasten could potentially be the White House's first ever gay couple, it's important to note that Pete has worked tirelessly in his time as Mayor of Southbend to improve living conditions and community standards. He himself has often noted that he has more political experience than the current president in office, and more military experience than any president in the past 25 years. And at only 37 years of age, he's truly kicking butt in the political department!
While the race has not revealed anything yet, Pete and Chasten have received endless support from relatives, friends and the party’s supports. And their biggest moment yet? That adorable campaign launch kiss! The couple shared an on-stage kiss, which honestly, was a breath of fresh air.
Malta wishes you all the luck in the world, Pete!