(CN) - A Texas man is entitled to an annulment, rather than a divorce, after his wife concealed five previous marriages from him, a Texas appeals court ruled.
Before Robert Leax's marriage, Elaine told him that she had been married twice before. Just before the wedding, she admitted to a third past marriage.
Elaine opted out of a cruise with Robert, suggesting that he take his daughter instead. She also didn't pick him up from the airport.
Robert was hoping that Elaine was planning a surprise 60th birthday party. Instead, he discovered that Elaine had left home, taking most of the couple's possessions and money.
Elaine alleged that Robert had been cruel to her, so she was entitled to a divorce. Robert countered that Elaine had concealed five other previous marriages and a separate estate worth $200,000, so he was entitled to an annulment on the basis of fraud.
Justice Keyes agreed that Robert was entitled to the bulk of the estate from the six-year "marriage."
"The trial court was entitled to consider Elaine's fraud at the time of her marriage to Robert, her fault in ending the marriage, and the nature of the property that each party brought into this relatively short-lived marriage."
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