I see in several referances, that the males prefer male company. I see no mention of them trying to mate. How do they know they are "couples"?
Some created nests and tried to incubate rocks.
The fact is is that birds pair bond and penguins are among those birds that pair bond for life. Once bonded with another individual (these in this zoo population were raised in an all male population such that once they grew of age and began pair bonding, there were only other males available...and, they literally "knew not females" -- pair bonding is a primal urge for all animal life (it's just that certain birds pair bond for life and don't rebond with the seasons like bears and such) and when it's time, it's time, and they go about trying to pair bond with the population available to them (d'oh).
Once females were introduced to this population, some of the male penguins already in pair bonds did the miraculouse thing and rebonded with females and then successfully reproduced, abandoning their "first" bonded "mate" (the other male). NOW THAT is the ACTUAL STORY HERE, given that birds that pair bond RARELY IF EVER bond again with another individual, even when one of the two dies (geese, for instance). SO THE REAL STORY OF CURIOSITY HERE is that some of these once-isolated male penguins actually formed NEW PAIR BONDS with the newly introduced females and successfully reproduced.
However, those males who did not were doing the "normal" thing as to the pair bonding behavior, and remained with their "mate" as most penguins do for their lifetimes. Even unsuccessful bonding...they just stay with whoever they bonded with, whatever happens.
Since those never knew females, they bonded with whoever was available to them, and in the case of this isolated population, it's the PAIR BONDING that is relevant, not that they pair bonded with other males who were their only options.
Pair bonding for avians is not about SEX, it's about REPRODUCTION AND REARING THE YOUNG. Birds require a partner to share the heavy and intense work load involved, particularly with penguins who have adapted to such extreme conditions of survival. It would be a waste of their time and resources, quite literally, be life threatening, for penguins to devote any more time than is necessary to pair bonding, and thus, once established, they remain with the selection, whatever happens.
I still find the marvelous, noteworthy thing here in this population to be that some of these penguins actually pair bonded twice (second time with the newly introduced females). THAT'S the "news event" of this story but you'd never know it from the MSM.
Especially when there is beer and football involved.