Main opposition SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis and his husband, Tyler McBeth, have announced that their Greek wedding will occur at the end of August on Crete.
“T & S Wedding … We are so excited to welcome you all to one of our favorite places to celebrate this special day …. XOXO Tyler & Stefanos,” an image the invitation circulating in the Greek media reads.
The invitation says the event will run for four days, from August 28-31, in Chania, Crete.
Kasselakis wedding after Greece legalized same-sex marriage
Kasselakis and McBeth are already married. In October 2023, a month after his election as SYRIZA leader, they were wed in a low-key ceremony held at their home in the seaside community of the Hamptons.
Στέφανος Κασσελάκης: Αυτό είναι το προσκλητήριο για τον γάμο του με τον Τάιλερ Μακμπέθ στα Χανιά https://t.co/elHaR7udd7 #ΧΑΝΙΑ #Γάμος #ΠΡΟΣΚΛΗΤΗΡΙΟ #Στέφανος_Κασσελάκης pic.twitter.com/D8916gDCiy
— PolitikaKritis (@politikakritis) May 8, 2024
Tyler McBeth revealed in February that the couple plans a Greek wedding during an interview with Star TV. “We are considering it. We will have the ceremony here in Greece during the summer…We are currently searching for a house; we intend to reside in Greece for many years,” he said.
In February, Greece became the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage.
“The vote has passed: as of tonight, Greece is proud to become the 16th EU country to legislate marriage equality,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted on X. “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” he added.
Mitsotakis, who personally spearheaded the bill, had urged lawmakers to “boldly abolish a serious inequality” in Greek democracy that had rendered same-sex families “invisible”.
Kasselakis is the new face in Greek politics
Kasselakis who spent a considerable portion of his life residing in the US, where he worked in the banking and shipping sectors, won the 2023 SYRIZA leadership election, and became the first openly gay leader of a Greek political party.
However, a few months after his win, Syriza underwent a division, resulting in the departure of 11 Members of Parliament (MPs) and three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who exited the party in protest of Kasselakis’ ideology and practices.
He recently completed a 20-day military service and has set sights to reversing the decline of SYRIZA following the disastrous result in the parliamentary elections of 2023.
Kasselakis who was almost unknown in Greece until last summer has won many people from all sides of the political spectrum.
Even the fact that he is openly gay and lives with his partner has not bothered more conservative individuals who are tired of the degradation of the political status quo.
Ironically, the people who are most annoyed by his presence are the SYRIZA diehard leftists who remain suspicious of his US background.
Furthermore, they do not seem convinced by Kasselakis’ statement that he realized how bad capitalism is when he worked for Goldman Sachs.