Woman finds out ‘prank’ wedding was real

A woman got her marriage annulled after discovering that a “prank” wedding she took part in to help boost a man’s social media following was real.

According to a Jan. 10 report by BBC, the two met online in September 2023 and eventually decided to live under the same roof in Melbourne after a short period of dating. The man popped the question to her three months later, to which she said yes. After two days, the woman agreed to become his bride in a “fake” wedding ceremony and even said she was happy to “play along” and “make it look real” for the ‘gram.

In February 2024, the woman found out that the "fake" ceremony was genuine when she applied to gain permanent residency in Australia. 

Per her testimony, her partner asked her to put him as her dependent in her application and then made the revelation about their wedding.

Aside from seeing their marriage certificate, the woman also saw a notice of intended marriage that she didn’t sign. Court documents showed it was filed before their engagement and that the signature there barely matched hers.

The bride said she was "furious" about how she "didn't know that that was a real marriage, and the fact that he also lied from the beginning, and the fact that he also wanted me to add him in my application."

The man argued that they “both agreed to these circumstances” and that the woman said yes to his marriage proposal prior to the “fake” wedding.

In a ruling, the court said the woman "believed she was acting" when the wedding was held. "It made perfect sense for her to adopt the persona of a bride in all things at the impugned ceremony so as to enhance the credibility of the video depicting a legally valid marriage."

Her petition for annulment was then granted by the judge.