At the same moment that many LGBT couples were waiting in line for the first civil-union licenses in Illinois on the morning of June 1, one Peoria man was filing for the state's first same-sex divorce. Citing "mental cruelty and irreconcilable differences," Mark Bayer filed for a divorce from Dr. Nathan Fredrick, his husband of five years.
Bayer's attorney, Joshua P. Haid, submitted the paperwork June 1 at 8:30 a.m., when the Peoria County Circuit Court opened for business, the first moment possible to file for a same-sex divorce in Peoria. Consequently, he is thought to be the first person to file for a same-sex divorce in Illinois history.
Haid released a statement about the split later that day, saying that Bayer was seeking alimony. "This is about recognizing that partners in a same-sex marriage now have equal rights to partners of traditional marriage under the law in Illinois," Haid said in the statement. In 2006, Bayer and Fredrick eloped to Quebec City, Canada, because they could not legally wed in South Carolina, where they lived at the time, according to the statement. Two years later, the couple relocated to Peoria with Bayer's son from a previous marriage because Fredrick, who is an emergency room physician, had been offered a job. Haid said that Bayer left his lifelong home in Myrtle Beach to support Fredrick's career, putting his own nursing career on hold. Bayer spent the next two years rehabbing two historical houses that the couple purchased consecutively. According to a 2010 article in the Peoria Journal Star, the couple sold the first renovated house when they saw a house across the street go up for sale, and Bayer stayed home to renovate the second property while Fredrick continued to work.
According to Haid, Bayer seriously injured his back during the second renovation and had to undergo multiple surgeries, forfeiting his nursing career.
"Among the complaints in this petition is that Dr. Fredrick knowingly and willfully denied Mr. Bayer equitable career opportunities, financial security and emotional support," the statement said.
Haid said that because Bayer put his career on hold to renovate the Bayer-Fredrick's home and because Bayer is now unable to work, he is entitled to alimony. Haid would not disclose in what form or amount Bayer was seeking alimony. "He is seeking the same spousal rights that anyone would be," Haid told Windy City Times. Illinois will likely see other same-sex divorces as the advent of civil unions allow same-sex couples to now dissolve marriages and unions they got in other states like Iowa, where samesex marriage has been legal for more than two years.
In Cook County, Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown released a statement June 1, stating that her office was prepared to handle same-sex divorces. "Of course, we wish everyone joined together in a civil union a long and happy life together, but if there is a need for a dissolution, then we are ready with the necessary court forms." said Brown in the release.
Haid would not say how long his client had been waiting to get a divorce, and Bayer declined to be interviewed.
Haid told Windy City Times that he and his client chose to release information about the divorce because he knew the news would be important to LGBT people. "The historical significance is that many of the rights conferred through marriage become very important when someone gets a divorce," he said. Despite the timing, Haid said that he and his client were not aiming to make history when they filed. "I think it just sorta came out that way," he said. "I just had to be [ at the courthouse ] early that day."