A lesbian couple who have been together for over 40 years has won a legal battle after they were refused entry into a retirement village together because they are married.

Mary Walsh, 74, and Bev Nance, 70, applied for a house in the Friendship Village senior living community in Sunset Hils, Missouri, where a number of their friends already live.

The couple attended a viewing in July 2016 and had put a $2,000 deposit on a home, however, their application was rejected.

They were told: “Your request to share a single unit does not fall within the categories permitted by the long-standing policy of Friendship Village Sunset Hills.”

Owners stated their cohabitation policy only extends to opposite-sex married couples citing their belief is that marriage is “the union of one man and one woman, as marriage is understood in the Bible.”

Walsh and Nance were shocked by this as a couple who have been together since 1978 and married since 2009. They sued Friendship Village alleging housing discrimination but their case was dismissed with a judge finding that the discrimination was not illegal.

The brave couple did not give up and their case was reinstated in July 2019 following the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination, applies to cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The lesbian couple got their victory on Tuesday, December 8, having reached a confidential settlement with the retirement village.

“This has been a harrowing experience and one that I hope no other same-sex couple has to face,” Walsh said after the ruling was announced. “Bev and I are relieved that this case is now behind us and that we have closure after our lives were thrown into chaos.”

Walsh and Nance’s focus now is only “on their health and each other,” and trying to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.