To me those two are the same. I live in a gayish area and I know “partner” to mean homosexual partner. I was talking with an Australian woman and she kept talking about her partner. I assumed it was another woman. Then she showed up with a man! In Australia when they live with someone and not married, they call them partners. Here, that term is pretty much exclusively gay.
So I read the first one as gay too.
Progressive New Yorkers always refer to anyone they are currently having sex with as a partner, even in traditional marriages. It’s more inclusive that way. Wouldn’t want anyone to feel “less than” or bullied.