One half of an Australian aquarium’s same-sex penguin power couple has died, ending a six-year love story that captured hearts around the world.

Sphen, a nearly 12-year-old gentoo penguin, died at the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium earlier this month, his heartbroken keepers announced on Thursday.

His partner Magic, 8, burst into song when brought to him after Sphen’s death, prompting the rest of the colony to join in, the aquarium said in a statement.

“The loss of Sphen is heartbreaking for the penguin colony, the team and everyone who was inspired or positively impacted by Sphen and Magic’s story,” said aquarium general manager Richard Dilly in a statement released to the media. “We would like to take this opportunity to reflect on and celebrate Sphen’s life and remember what an icon he was.”

According to the BBC, Sphen’s health deteriorated in the days leading up to his death, so he was euthanized to end his pain and discomfort. An investigation into the cause of death is currently ongoing.

Gentoo penguins have an average life expectancy of 12 to 13 years, according to the aquarium, meaning Sphene had a considerably long life.

Sphen and Magic, known together as “Sphengic,” had been together since early 2018 and were described as “inseparable” when the aquarium first announced their romance, which came not long after same-sex marriage was legalized in Australia.

The pair were observed “waddling around and swimming together” and then building a large pebble nest, which they maintained impeccably and filled with more rocks than any other nest in the colony, according to the aquarium. But they were missing something: an egg.

Their caregivers noticed their meticulous care and initially offered the pair an artificial egg to see how they would do as parents. The pair handled it like pros, better than any other penguin pair in the colony, according to a previous article about their journey in the New York Times. They were then given a real foster egg – given to them by a heterosexual couple who had neglected one of their children – and had a girl named Lara.

Lara, born in late 2018, would be her first of two foster babies.

The following year, the couple received a second foster egg, but it turned out to be infertile, according to a previous blog post from the aquarium. The following year, they received a third egg, which resulted in a baby boy named Clancy Carpenter, or CC, in 2020.

“Sphen and Magic are more than just a beautiful love story – their impact around the world as a symbol of equality is immeasurable,” the aquarium said in a statement.