End to the marriage that never was for wife

A woman who was duped into marriage last year is once again single after the Family Court declared the marriage void.

A woman who was duped into marriage last year in bizarre circumstances is once again single after the Family Court declared the marriage void because she didn’t have the English proficiency to understand the ceremony, and mistakenly believed she and her boyfriend were registering the relationship to help him gain a permanent visa.

The woman, who can’t be identified, moved to Australia in 2009 and had never undertaken a course to learn to speak English, according to court documents.

Judge Christine Thornton said the woman, aged 35, had focused on providing care to her mother and had primarily socialised within non-English-speaking circles.

The woman told the court she met her former husband in February last year through family friends, when he was in Australia on a temporary visa. She said they formed a friendship and mainly used social media to communicate. After the couple became closer, “in accordance with our cultural customs we decided to undergo a promise night”.

A promise night is described as being when the man promises the woman and her family that he is serious about starting a relationship and has a genuine intention of getting married.

After the promise night, it is then seen to be appropriate for the couple to attend dinner, parties and other events together as a couple.

The woman said her former husband told her he was here on a temporary visa without work entitlements. “He told me that if we got our relationship registered then he would be able to work, and it would assist him to obtain a permanent residence (sic),” she said.

She told the court that early last year she went to a house with her former husband and family members.

She said her former husband told her the marriage celebrant was a person who was able to register the relationship and the celebrant said some things.

“I did not understand anything as I could not speak English; there was no interpreter present,” she said.

She said for about a month following the ceremony she and the husband went out for dinner and attended celebrations as “boyfriend/girlfriend” but never lived together and never became physical with each other beyond kissing on the lips.

She said she and the former husband discussed plans to marry but the relationship gradually broke down by mid-April last year.

The woman said she then contacted the celebrant with a friend to cancel the registration of the relationship and discovered she was married and would need to wait a year before obtaining a divorce.

Justice Thornton declared the marriage void on the grounds that the woman did not give real consent to the marriage and proposed to pronounce a decree of nullity of the marriage.