The bigamists investigated for cheating on their spouses

POLICE in Humberside have investigated several reports over the last decade of people who were hiding a secret spouse or family from their other half.

According to police crime records, officers in our area have filed nine offences of bigamy in the 10 years up to and including 2021. Bigamy is the offence of marrying someone while already wed to another person, and can be punished by a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison.

It is different from polygamy, which is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. With polygamy, the spouses usually all know of each other, and frequently live together with the head of the family.

For example, polygamy is a fairly common practice among Mormon sects such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And Joe Exotic, the jailed star of the infamous Netflix docuseries Tiger King, married two of his zoo employees, John Finlay and Michael Moldanado in a joint ceremony in 2014.

In contrast, bigamists usually keep their partners secret from each other. Polygamy is permitted in some countries, and it is not an offence if a person who now lives in the UK had previously married multiple partners in a country where polygamy is legally allowed.

However, if a polygamist then chose to marry again while in the UK, that would be classed as bigamy, and a crime. But offences are rare - in Humberside no crimes of bigamy were recorded last year, none during the pandemic in 2020, and one in 2019.

Zahra Pabani, family law partner at Irwin Mitchell said: “Bigamy is a criminal offence here in the UK, but other countries can have little to no consequences for bigamists – which is why often when this happens, it’s across two different countries. The level of deception needed to run the charade is intense and stressful for those involved – even the bigamist at the heart of it.

“It’s always shocking when it happens and leaves the partner completely blindsided. If you suspect your partner of bigamy, you need two things: some concrete evidence and to report the offence to the police.

“Some would hire a private detective to get proof, but you can’t just go on a hunch – solid proof is needed. It’s also always recommended to talk to a family lawyer or professional who can run through your options.”

Across all the police force areas in England and Wales, a total of 599 cases have been recorded in the last decade. Crimes fell during the pandemic particularly during lockdowns that may have proved a problem for anyone with two spouses and potentially two families.