'The View' Joy Behar: 'It was the right time to marry'

Joy Behar has said that she decided to marry long-time partner Steve Janowitz as she finally felt ready.

The View co-host tied the knot with Janowitz in New York City last month, an event Behar confessed was inspired by the legalisation of gay marriage in New York state.

During the ABC chat show's season premiere on Tuesday, Behar said: "It did have an influence on me. It brought to my consciousness why gays needed to get married And I thought it was a good reason for me to get married. And so did Steve, so we did it.

"[Plus], if he was going to get down on one knee, I wanted it to be during the time when he could still get up from one knee!"

Behar also jokingly listed her top ten reasons for walking down the aisle, including that she felt "embarrassed asking about senior discounts for her 'boyfriend'" and was "sick of Barbara Walters bugging [her] to get married".

The View co-host Sherri Shepherd also married partner Lamar Sally last month in an intimate Chicago ceremony.