I want to weigh in on this. I like the gender neutral alternatives, but why did the old ones need to be nuked to make way for that? It makes the game feel less inclusive by forcing a certain language, because as the OP stated, these labels are very important to some people. It was not too long ago when gay people couldn't be husband and wife, and there are still many countries where same sex marriage is forbidden and illegal. Those people deserve to be seen and represent themselves in the game too. Perhaps in a future update we could have the option to be husband/wife etc again, even if the gender neutral option would remain as default?
Edit: Obviously straight couples deserve to keep their labels too, I don't mean to erase them. It's just that I am lesbian and my mind went instantly to "NO MA WIFE!"
