Unlucky-in-love Married At First Sight contestant Haydn Daniels has racked up a $3000 legal bill seeking advice about annulling his marriage to Bel Clarke.
In an Instagram post, in which he wanted to clear up misconceptions that the contestants “made a lot of money” from the show, he published the bill, saying: “Yesterday I received this legal bill for annulment advice. I even got charged for them taking a call from Warner Brothers 😂 all of these decisions including trying to get an annulment were my own. I own that. But please don’t tell me I benefited from this show financially.”
He went on to say bitterly, “Oh and for the record myself or any of the cast have not received one word of thanks from Media Works for being on the show. No wrap party, no launch party not even a card in the mail. Bring on that divorce 😂😂👊👊”
Each of the couples who didn’t work out – which was everyone except Brett and Angel – will face a divorce bill. But getting a divorce is a lot cheaper than having your marriage annulled.
To get a divorce in New Zealand you need to have been separated for two years and at the conclusion of the two years you can apply to the family court for a dissolution order, which costs $211.50.
To annul a marriage is much more expensive and complex because an annulment goes one step further by voiding a marriage, as if it never happened. To get an annulment you need to prove that your marriage was “voidable” – or should never have taken place – and this can only be proven on the following grounds:
Grounds for annulment
• Unsound mind – one spouse lacked the ability to give consent due to a mental impairment or the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Force or coercion – one spouse was coerced into the marriage, by force or threat of force
• Fraud – one spouse makes false statements, and the other spouse agrees to marry based on a belief that the statements were true, or
• A physical impairment, including sexual impotence, which prevents the couple from consummating the marriage.(Provided you didn’t know about your spouse’s impotence before you married.)
The only other grounds for annulment are:
• Bigamy
• One spouse is under the age of consent
• Incest
Proving the grounds for annulment can be difficult, and only a small percentage of marriages qualify.
Daniels’ bill shows that he and his mother opted not to proceed with annulment, and in a second Instagram post Daniels’ explained: “Ok just to be clear. I am not complaining about my legal costs. The point of my last post was to clear up the misconception that the cast made a lot of money appearing on the show.”
He continues: “I sat at a meeting with all the executives before the show and said “I do not care about the tv show. Give me a genuine lovely girl right here right now and I will marry her.” In return after my original match pulled out they give me a ring in from the Bachelor. I did not come on the show for thanks. But the fact that Media Works are too busy running around slapping each other on the back for beating TVNZ in some ratings to even acknowledge or thank the cast members on the show is a joke.”
In Australia’s version of Married At First Sight, the contestants couldn’t formally marry due to legal restrictions, but in all other versions around the world, including New Zealand, the weddings were legally binding.
