(CNN) UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that heterosexual couples in England and Wales will be able to enter into civil partnerships instead of getting married, previously only same-sex couples had that choice.

"This change in the law helps protect the interests of opposite-sex couples who want to commit, want to formalize their relationship but don't necessarily want to get married," May said in an interview with the London Evening Standard

"As home secretary, I was proud to sponsor the legislation that created equal marriage. Now, by extending civil partnerships, we are making sure that all couples, be they same-sex or opposite-sex, are given the same choices in life."

Civil partnerships were introduced in 2004 under the Labour government of Tony Blair to enable gay people to marry in all but name. In 2014, the coalition government led by Conservative David Cameron updated the law to allow equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Earlier this year, a heterosexual couple who objected to the "patriarchal" institution of marriage won a legal claim for discrimination because civil partnerships were available only to same-sex couples.

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