‘Married at First Sight’: The Science of Separation

Friday 26 April 2019

‘Married at First Sight’ recently returned to our television screens for a fourth series.

The concept of the show is literally in the title; potential candidates apply to be scientifically matched with their ‘perfect partner’ on paper, and the first time they will meet is at their wedding!

After tying the knot, they are required to live together for six weeks and remain married for the duration of the series before deciding whether to stay together or divorce.

So what is the legal implication of this?

Well, they are legally married just like any other married couple! If they wish to divorce (as the law currently stands) they will need to rely on the marriage irretrievably breaking down and provide one of the following five grounds:

1. Adultery
2. Unreasonable Behaviour
3. Desertion
4. Separation for more than two years (with the consent of their spouse)
5. Separation for more than five years

A divorce can also only be applied for once the parties have been married for a year and therefore couples who choose to split up after the six week period will have to remain married for this duration, unless they are able to have their marriage annulled.

 Can the marriage be annulled?

Yes, but only if the marriage is ‘void’ or ‘voidable’.

A void marriage is one which is not legally valid. Reasons for a marriage not being legally valid include:

• One of the parties was under the age of 16
• If the couple were closely related
• Where one of the parties was already married or in a civil partnership

This seems unlikely due to the intense application process the candidates go through.

A voidable marriage is where it is defective. Examples of how a marriage can be defective include:

• Where the marriage hasn’t been consummated
• Where one of the parties didn’t properly consent to the marriage
• Where one of the parties had a sexually transmitted disease when they got married
• The bride-to-be was already pregnant by another man when the parties got married

 Do the couples in the show have any legal protection?

Assuming that the UK follows the US version, we understand that there is a short and brief Pre-Nuptial Agreement (Prenup) stating that if they split up they each keep whatever assets they had before they married.

A Prenup will set out exactly what the divorce settlement would be or in many cases simply exclude assets from consideration upon divorce (such as assets held by either party before marriage or received from family members).

However Prenups are not legally binding in England and Wales, despite the Courts giving them more decisive weight in recent years.

In the case of Mr and Mrs Versteegh, the parties signed a Prenup the day before the marriage which was accepted by the Court as they ruled the wife knew and understood the impact of the Agreement.

The likelihood of successful long term marriages resulting from ‘Married at First Sight’ is limited considering none of the couples from the previous series have remained married.

However the show does underline that a Prenup is an important and sensible step for many couples entering into marriage, not just the ones who have met through a reality TV show!