Why was Mrs Owens denied the right to divorce?

It might surprise many people to discover that ‘no fault divorces’ do not exist under English law – though they do in other jurisdictions like Scotland and the USA.

The current position is that divorce can only be granted within the first two years of separation based on the fact of adultery or because your spouse has “behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with them.”

After two years, divorce can be granted on the basis of a 2 year separation if both parties agree but, if one party refuses to do so, the party seeking divorce has to wait a further 3 years, until five years after separation has elapsed, to do so.

There have previously been calls for ‘no fault divorces’ to be introduced and the recent case of Tini and Hugh Owens, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, has raised debate about this issue again.

Mrs Owens issued a divorce petition in 2015 based on the fact of her husband’s behaviour, but Mr Owens has refused to agree to divorce and has defended it vigorously.

As Mrs Owens has been unable to convince the courts that Mr Owens’ behaviour is not sufficient to meet the test set out in the law, she is effectively ‘locked in’ to her marriage to Mr Owens until 2020.  The Supreme Court in making their decision in the husband’s favour have stated their struggle with the decision and there are now calls for the law made in 1973 to be reviewed.

If you are in an unhappy marriage and wish to commence proceedings before the period of 2 or 5 years has passed, you must ensure that your Divorce Petition is drafted very carefully so that you do not end up in a similar position to Mrs Owens.