Did a Texas man divorce his wife, or didn’t he? Apparently, he did not, leading to turmoil.
Police in Fort Worth, Texas, said the 38-year-old man has been legally wed to two women since 2009. Although the women lived only about 15 miles apart, neither knew about the other, according to police.
The man filed for divorce from his first wife on Oct. 16, 2009, and also married the second woman the same day. The second woman believed her new husband had divorced his wife earlier in the year.
He had not, however. All the while, he lived in Arlington, Texas, with his first wife and in suburban Grapevine with his second wife. The court dismissed the man’s divorce filing when he did not show up for a hearing.
A Fort Worth police spokesman said he did not know if the first wife ever knew that her husband filed divorce papers.
The man’s bigamy became known in May when the second wife called the first wife after uncovering evidence that the man had been supporting two households. The first wife then turned the man into police, who arrested him on charges of bigamy, a third-degree felony.
The man travels frequently for his work in aviation, which the police spokesman speculated had helped him to hide the wives from each other.
The first wife since has filed for divorce, and her attorney said she wanted no public exposure. She and the man have one child together. A hearing is scheduled for April.
When a marriage is failing, it is best to divorce or to seek help to see if the two parties can save the marriage. Committing an illegal act, if the man did indeed do, is never a way to deal with marital issues.
Source: ABC News, “Texas Bigamist Led a Double Life for Three Years, Police Say,” Dina Abou Salem, Oct. 19, 2012