That show had to work so hard to try to get that message across without offending 90s censors.
Do you recall if they were the television show (or heck, any other time) to be the first to get there?
The Hemingway chick was first.
I believe it was 1993. Roseanne?
I wouldn't be surprised, that show did a good job breaking boundaries.
Their miscarriage arc was very daring.
I think Ellen was also out before Xena and Gabrielle.
We also had people like Rosie O'Donnell, but Roseanne's closer to relevance from it being fiction.
They did their thing in the late 90s, about the same time as Buffy's (BtVS) sidekicks the witches Tara and whatsername? The cute little redhead.
Willow, and Tara was Tarable for the series. There was no chemistry between that actor and the cast (as you can see Whedon attempt to adopt into the script to make it seem more natural), you can tell some of what she says feels out of character in an Oz-like way, she accomplishes little more than a prop or framing device. I feel like Whedon couldn't do anything risky or daring with her character over the actress not being built for the challenge. It's almost as if they had to find an autist in order to make Willow appear like a more powerful person, like attractive people being written to have ugly friends.
The best part about Tara's when she died imo.
So no. Xena and Gabby were definitely not first.
They may not be the first, but they were one of the more real representations of it. Rather than simply telling the audience they were forced to show it through subtext cues and the occasional snarky line drop about hickies and stuff. The two even bicker like an old married couple by season two, and their 'as a friend' inserts behind every 'I love you' doesn't seem as friendzoned as Herculues and Iolaus.
It seems more like the chemistry demonstrated in 2 Fast 2 Furious:
