The so-called partner had no legally recognizable relationship to the child, neither based on genetics, nor on adoption, not on marriage. It’s baffling to me why “partnerluv” would have any rights or responsibilities in this case.
As far as visitation rights, the case I was involved in had a very conservative judge. His position was that these children were bonded to the “mother” who technically had no legal rights. She was their “psychological parent.” He had to focus on the best interest of the children rather than whether the adults in their lives had made good choices. He found that he had a common law ability to order the visitation. My client was well aware of my conservative Christian beliefs. I told her that this had been a poor way to make a family. But I too believed that to take her out of the lives of these two young children without at least a transition and some counseling, would have been harmful to them. She eventually quit seeing them.