Gillian Hudson and Robert Leigh exchanged rings and vows with each other in a lavish roof top wedding service in Cape Town in 2004 during which their daughter acted as bridesmaid. The service was performed by a priest in front of a crowd of friends and family. The couple did no have a separate civil ceremony which Mr Leigh had allegedly promised when they returned to England. The venue was booked for the civil event two months after the South African ceremony but the couple separated before the date and never went through with the civil ceremony. The ceremony in South Africa left out references to the couple being a “lawful wife” and “lawful husband” and there was no declaration that they were lawfully married according to the requirements of South African law. This meant, according to Mr Justice Bodey who heard the case, that no lawful marriage ceremony had taken place, therefore the couple were not actually married.
This ruling leaves Ms Hudson unable to claim financial relief from Mr Leigh other than maintenance for the benefit of their daughter.
This case is a salutary lesson to those getting married overseas to comply with the requirements of the country in which the marriage takes place so as to make it a valid marriage. Only marriages recognised as being valid in the country in which they are celebrated will be treated as such by the UK courts on a later petition for divorce.
Meredith Thompson