Marking the tenth anniversary since the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales, beloved TV show host Lorraine Kelly has conducted Britain’s first live on-air gay wedding.

Wearing a shimmery rainbow dress, the Scottish presenter officiated the blessing of Cardiff couple Luke Avaient and Gavin Sheppard live on her popular mid-morning chat show on Wednesday, March 27.

After a video montage of the couple getting suited up by the show’s stylist Mark Heyes, Luke and Gavin arrived on stage with their mothers to a small studio audience of close family and friends.

After welcoming them, Lorraine declared, “It’s a real privilege for me to bear witness to your wedding and to show people across the country that Love is Love.”

She then invited the couple to share their vows. Likening their story to an Oscar-worthy movie, Gavin sobbed the words, “As you know, we say ‘I love you’ in so many ways every single day, but today, the simple words mean everything, and that’s ‘I love you’,” causing Luke and many in the studio to well up.

In an episode of Lorraine aired on Tuesday, March 26, ahead of the live wedding show, the couple discussed how they had gotten engaged, revealing that Gavin had proposed with the help of singer Anastacia during one of her concerts. 

During the wedding show, after the ceremony was concluded, Lorraine shared a video message from Anastacia congratulating the couple on their nuptials.

She began, “Anastacia is here to say, ‘Congratulations, kids. You did it’.” 

Acknowledging the importance of the event, she quipped, “You don’t go small – I engaged you, Lorraine’s marrying you, I mean, like seriously, I really love you even more now.”

In an interview with Attitude ahead of the show, the couple revealed that they initially met via a dating app in the summer of 2019, but it wasn’t until Gavin was attending a routine appointment in the hospital where Luke worked that they had a chance to properly connect.

They also revealed that Gavin disclosed his positive HIV status on their first date, and although Luke needed to do some homework to improve his understanding, he “realised (Gavin) was good for him.”