Welcome to the lives of two people in England. They separated after only 2 years of marriage and the husband lodged an Application for Divorce with the Court in 2013. But when he did so, he accidentally ticked a box on the form saying that he and his wife had not been separated for the required 2 years. None of the Court staff noticed the error and neither did the two Judges who variously handles his Divorce. He and his former wife both went on to remarry other people, not realising that they were still actually married to each other! Thankfully, common sense prevailed and a senior Judge who recently analysed the case declared “the parties were innocent victims of a failure by the Court itself” and that their subsequent marriages were entered into “in complete good faith and in reliance upon the Court’s own Orders:. The Divorce was granted.
In an unusual twist, both people married Brazilians and the former wife now lives in Brazil where bigamy is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment. She’s very relieved that this error has been rectified and she remains legally married!