Woman ‘Furious’ After Realizing Her ‘Prank’ Marriage To An Aspiring Influencer Was Legally Binding
An Australian woman was incensed to discover that she was legally married. Although she took part in a wedding, she believed that it was fake, intended only to trick her partner’s social media followers. In reality, she was the one who had been deceived.
The woman is furious after realizing that her ‘prank’ marriage to an aspiring influencer was legally binding.
The bizarre situation unfolded in September 2023, when the woman, a foreigner living in Melbourne, met her partner on an online dating platform. After dating for several months, he proposed to her in December.
The engagement was short-lived. Just two days later, he invited her to an event in Sydney, described as a “white party,” where guests were instructed to wear all-white clothing.
Upon arrival, she was confused to find that no guests were present other than her partner, a photographer, the photographer’s friend, and a celebrant.
“(My partner) pulled me aside, and he told me that he’s organizing a prank wedding for his social media, to be precise, Instagram, because he wants to boost his content, and wants to start monetizing his Instagram page,” the woman told the BBC.
The aspiring influencer, who had over 17,000 followers, wouldn’t be the first content creator to pull such a stunt. Tana Mongeou fake married Jake Paul in a highly publicized — and not legally binding — wedding in 2019.
So, despite her reservations, the woman went along with the ceremony. Her partner assured her that civil marriage is only valid when held in a court and a friend she called insisted that the marriage could not be real because they had not filed a notice of intended marriage.
With little to no understanding of the legal implications, the woman exchanged vows and kissed her partner in front of the camera, believing it was all part of an act.
The situation took a dramatic turn months later when she learned that the marriage was not as fake as she was led to believe.
Months later, her partner asked her to add him as a dependent in her application for permanent residency in Australia. The woman, believing that they were not actually married, refused. It was then that her partner revealed the truth: their wedding had been a legitimate civil ceremony and the marriage was legally binding.
Upon further investigation, the woman discovered a notice of intended marriage that had been filed the month before their trip to Sydney — before they were even officially engaged. To her dismay, the signature on the notice did not resemble her own.
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In her deposition, the woman expressed her outrage, stating, “I’m furious with the fact that I didn’t know that that was a real marriage and the fact that he also lied from the beginning.” She also expressed disbelief at his request to be added to her permanent residency application, a move that would have tied them together legally in a way she had never intended.
The woman was ultimately granted an annulment.
In October 2024, a Melbourne judge granted the woman an annulment after determining that she had been misled into the marriage. The judge ruled that the woman had not given “real consent” to the wedding, as she believed the ceremony was a staged prank for social media.
The influencer, on the other hand, maintained that the woman had agreed to the marriage, claiming that they had discussed the ceremony beforehand and that she was aware of its nature. However, the court sided with the woman.
The annulment set a legal precedent regarding the need for clear consent in social media-driven events and pranks that have the potential to result in serious legal consequences.
Erika Ryan is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.
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