George Takei celebrates 40 years with husband Brad Altman and 18 years married

George Takei and husband Brad Altman are celebrating a relationship spanning four decades, including 18 years as a married couple.

The couple marked their wedding anniversary on September 14, with George sharing a photograph and looking back at the years they spent together before they were legally able to become husbands. Brad also shared the milestone as they celebrated in New York City.

George and Brad have now been together for 40 years. They married on September 14, 2008 at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, just months after a California Supreme Court ruling opened marriage to same-sex couples in the state.

Their relationship had already lasted more than two decades by then. George publicly came out as gay in 2005 and has since become one of the most recognisable LGBTQ+ figures associated with Hollywood, combining his acting career with decades of public advocacy.

Brad has remained alongside him throughout that increasingly public chapter of their lives, with the couple eventually taking the same surname.

The anniversary therefore marks two milestones at once: 18 years since they were finally able to marry and 40 years since their relationship began.

After four decades together, their latest celebration is another reminder of just how much changed during the years between becoming a couple and finally being legally recognised as husbands.