The Supreme Court has ruled that concealing one’s homosexuality from a spouse may constitute fraud and is valid grounds for annulling a marriage.
In an eight-page decision made public Tuesday, the SC’s Second Division annulled the marriage of a woman whose husband hid his homosexuality prior to their wedding.
The couple met online while the man was working in Saudi Arabia, and married in 2013 after a year-long virtual relationship.
The woman noticed the man avoided physical intimacy both before and after the marriage. Just two months after the wedding, he left for Saudi Arabia and ceased communication, only sending a message on their first anniversary. She later found magazines featuring nude male models and confronted him, leading to his admission of homosexuality.
She filed for annulment, claiming her consent was obtained through fraud. Lower courts denied her petition due to lack of corroborating evidence, but the SC disagreed. “For a marriage to be valid, both parties must give their consent freely,” the Court ruled, citing Article 45 and Article 46 of the Family Code.
The SC found the husband’s deception and emotional distance were deliberate efforts to hide the truth. It concluded that the woman’s consent was not fully informed and declared the marriage null and void.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “SC: Hiding one’s homosexuality ground for marriage annulment”
