Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gay Couple Recreates Their Old Photos From The '80s and '90s—And TikTok Is Swooning Hard

Richie and Duane in 2023; Richie and Duane in 1997
@richie_and_duane/TikTok

Richie Cohen and Duane Tragis met in college in 1981, and the rest is history.

A gay married couple melted the hearts of social media users by sharing their enduring love through the decades in a series of sweet TikTok videos.

Richie Cohen, 59, and Duane Tragis, 60 were 18 and 19 respectively when they first met in college. They have been inseparable ever since.


To capture how much their love for each other stood the test of time, the romantic pair made video clips recreating old photos of them together.

Their videos went viral, like this clip that racked up over 22 million views and counting on TikTok.

@richie_and_duane

Duane always outranks me. #couplegoals #gaycouplegoals

People were here for the romantic trip down memory lane.

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

Another video had them sporting an entirely different look in 1989 but admitting how some fashion preferences haven't changed.

The caption read:

"We still wear bikinis and denim cutoffs but didn’t have any with us!"

The praise for their playful videos continued.

@richie_and_duane/TikTok


@richie_and_duane/TikTok


@richie_and_duane/TikTok


@richie_and_duane/TikTok

When Queerty asked how they first met, Richie responded:

“We met at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ in October 1981 after silently flirting for two months across opposite ends of a crowded art history lecture hall."
“We were 18 and 19 years old. Little by little, during those two months, Duane moved his seat closer and closer until finally one day, he sat right next to me."
"And the first thing I said to him was, ‘I love you!’ I didn’t mean to blurt that out, but I meant it. I’d had two months to think about it.”

Duane added:

“When you’ve had a crush on someone for two months and the first words you hear from them are “I love you,” that is a huge ego boost for a Leo."
"But I loved him, too.”

You can tell, especially in this clip paired with a photo of them from 1987.

@richie_and_duane

Where did the years go? #couplegoals #gaycouplegoals

It seems their hair has also changed over the years.

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

@richie_and_duane/TikTok

Richie said he and Duane knew they were the one for each other.

They proceeded with plans to commit to each other by taking matters into their own hands.

“We were each other’s first boyfriend, lost our virginity together, and got married after a couple months."
"We naively went to apply for a marriage license but they laughed at us, convinced it was a fraternity prank."
"We were angered and determined, not discouraged, so we decided to just get married on our own with smiley face rings from a gumball machine.”
@richie_and_duane

Where did the years go? #couplegoals #gaycouplegoals

Prior to moving to New York, the couple was known as the "Photo Booth Boys," named for their passion for taking pictures inside old photo booths.

Many of these cute photos were featured in a carousel of photos in a post on Instagram.

The caption read:

"We took our first photo booth picture together in the men’s room at Grand Central Station in 1981. It was a vintage machine from the 1950s."
"From then, we were hooked and spent the next few decades documenting our lives in strips whenever we could."
"The Wall Street Journal even did a front page feature on our collection last year."

Richie and Duane have been living in Manhattan since 1985 and were part of their duo comedy sketch team since 1987.

Their time on stage together was considered "groundbreaking" at a time when there was no other LGBTQ representation in comedy and there was virtually no support from other comics.

Nowadays, after having a presence on social media well before other influencers started their own trendy gimmicks, Richie and Duane have received an overwhelming number of compliments online.

But not all of them have been positive.

Duane broke down the kinds of responses they've had through their years of being on social media.

“Yes, two kinds. Firstly, all the hate comments. I mean, we have been on social media for decades, so that’s nothing new."
"Everyone gets them. But it’s weird how so many are suddenly coming out of the woodwork to tell us how disgusting they think we are for being two gay men kissing."
"Not that it affects us at all.

Their penchant for ignoring haters shows.

Duane shared the many obstacles and notable crises they faced over the years.

“Look, we survived the AIDS crisis in NYC, seeing our close friends and neighbors die young."
"We joined ACT UP and fought back against the indifference of President Reagan and Mayor Koch."
"We dealt with the homophobic entertainment industry, including managers who suggested we promote ourselves as brothers or buddies instead of a married couple."
"So, a few hundred vomit emojis in TikTok and Instagram comments aren’t going to affect us, other than to increase our engagement!”

He mentioned another type of comment they never saw coming.

“The other surprising type of comments are the ones expressing how they rarely, if ever, have seen an older gay couple."
“We never thought of ourselves as unicorns and we know other couples who have been together a long time."
"So, it’s kind of weird to find out how invisible we are in the media. It’s not something we ever thought or cared about. We had no idea!”

More from News/lgbtq

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less