Back in the day it did sound weird. Partner was usually a business relationship, not a romantic one, and it was almost exclusively used by the LGBT crowd.
More gender neutral terms are good, but they’re still going to sound odd to folks who spent 40+ years hearing the terms used in a different way. That’s just how progress goes, older folks eventually will either get used to it, or be the weird relative ignored at holidays.
Back in the day it did sound weird. Partner was usually a business relationship, not a romantic one, and it was almost exclusively used by the LGBT crowd.
More gender neutral terms are good, but they’re still going to sound odd to folks who spent 40+ years hearing the terms used in a different way. That’s just how progress goes, older folks eventually will either get used to it, or be the weird relative ignored at holidays.