Wow. Memories of this series. I watched it , with four other girls, from the first season (1995?) while we were all freshmen in high school. When I went to college, I saw it very infrequently. I probably have not seen anything of it in over 20 years. I liked the show, the interplay of Xena and Gabrielle, and the mix of pseudo history and mythology. It was a fantasy and I have always liked that. A couple of us had girl crushes on Gabrielle. Xena was powerful; Gabrielle was cute.
I just Googled the "Ides of March" episode - on YouTube (had never seen that one). If there was ever any doubt that the two women characters were intended to be gay, that one resolved it. There were so many hints before that. Maybe the producers and writers did not intend any sexual inuendo at first, but it developed as the series went on. The two women were strong, resilient, sexually appealing and cool.