Locked into a loveless marriage: wife loses divorce appeal

Tini Owens, the wife who was appealing against the refusal of the court to grant her a divorce, has lost her appeal.

In a judgment handed down today the Court of Appeal upheld the original ruling of the court that, despite the fact that the marriage had broken down, Mrs Owens had failed to prove, within the meaning of the law, that her husband had behaved in such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with him. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

The ruling means that, in her own words, Mrs Owens is “locked into a loveless and desperately unhappy marriage”.

Whilst accepting that the law had been applied correctly, two of the Court of Appeal judges expressed their dissatisfaction with the result. Lady Justice Hallett said: “I very much regret that our decision will leave the wife in a very unhappy situation. I urge the husband to reconsider his position. On any view, the marriage is over. I can only hope that he will relent and consent to a divorce on the grounds the parties have lived apart for a continuous period of two years, rather than force his wife to wait until five years have elapsed.”

Commenting on the judgment Nigel Shepherd, the Chair of Resolution, the association of family lawyers, said: “This judgment will obviously come as a disappointment to Mrs Owens, and absolutely underlines the urgent need for no-fault divorce. Nobody should be compelled to remain in a marriage against their will, yet judges’ hands are tied by the current divorce law … The simple fact is, this case should not have been necessary. Only by implementing a no-fault divorce system can we ensure such a situation doesn’t happen again.”

The Court of Appeal’s judgment can be read in full here.

For further information on the ground for divorce, see this post.

Image: Prison Bars, by Michael Coghlan, licensed under CC BY 2.0.