Wife 'locked in' loveless marriage after judge refuses divorce petition

A woman has been refused permission to divorce her husband because their rows were just part of married life.

Tini Owens, 65, said her 39-year-old marriage to her husband Hugh, 78, had broken down following an affair she had several years ago.

She described him as an “old-school” husband and said his “continued beratement” over the affair was “unreasonable behaviour” and thus grounds for divorce.

But Mr Owens said he had forgiven her infidelity and believed the pair should stay together to “enjoy 30-odd years of shared experiences”.

In a highly unusual move the family court judge, Robin Tolson, refused to grant the divorce petition.

Ms Owens' allegations against her husband were “exaggerated” and “minor altercations of a kind to be expected in a marriage”, he said, adding that the case was “an exercise in scraping the barrel”.

As a result, Ms Owens will now be unable to end the marriage immediately and will have to wait five years to divorce without her husband’s consent.

The details of the case, which was ruled on late last year, only came to light this week when Ms Owens asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision.

Only one per cent of all divorce petitions in England and Wales are contested and it is highly unusual for a judge to deny a petition from a spouse who wishes to dissolve a marriage.

After marrying in 1978, the couple had built up a £5-million-a-year mushroom growing business in Worcestershire. They own property in the county as well as a several in Wales and France.

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Their “genteel life” came crashing down when Ms Owens had a brief affair with another man, Ted Olive, between November 2012 and August 2013, the court heard.

Eighteen months later she moved out of their home in Willersey, shortly before seeking a divorce. She now lives in another property the couple own.

She said some of Mr Owens’ unreasonable behaviour include criticising her in front of their housekeeper, making her pick up bits of cardboard in the garden, a row in an airport shop after a holiday, “a silent meal in a local pub” and “stinging remarks” aimed at her during another meal with a friend.

Ms Owens’ lawyer, Philip Marshall QC, condemned the ruling and called for a reform to divorce law.

“The husband, in his attitude and his manner and the way he did and said things, treated her in a childlike and patronising way and thought that she ought to comply with his will," he told the court.

“The wife, who is nearly 66, is now a ‘locked-in’ wife. She cannot get divorced unless the husband changes his mind and agrees. There doesn’t have to be violence or threats of violence or gambling or drinking or shouting."

He added: “There is a cumulative effect of what may be regarded as inconsequential conduct, which may justify a finding that it is unreasonable to expect her to stay with him”.

Divorce law requires the petitioner to prove fault for an immediate divorce but it can be granted two years after separation if both parties agree and five if only one side wants to end the marriage.