A Texas man has been charged with bigamy after his third wife discovered he was planning to marry yet another woman. The revelation came to light when Marcus Shorten’s wife, Tammie, stumbled upon a Facebook post announcing his upcoming nuptials.
Shorten, who has previously been divorced twice, married Tammie in 2012. The couple separated after seven years but never officially divorced, as reported by the New York Post.
This oversight has now landed Shorten in legal trouble as he reportedly entered his fourth marriage without legally ending his third. Despite their separation, the couple remained in occasional contact and even discussed the possibility of formally proceeding with a divorce.
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“I didn’t want a divorce, I’m getting me some help Tammie, I don’t want a divorce I don’t want my family to think of me as a failure,” Tammie claimed her 53-year-old husband said.
Tammie was stunned last December when she discovered a wedding registry for her husband’s upcoming marriage to another woman. This shocking revelation prompted her to confront Shorten about his plans for the new nuptial.
“I told him, ‘Before you let the whole world know what you’re doing, make sure your business is right,’” Tammie told KTRK.
Ignoring Tammie’s advice, Shorten married his new wife on January 27, 2024, at the Fifth Ward Church of Christ in Houston, according to marriage records reviewed by the Post.
This marked his fourth marriage, with previous weddings in 1991, 2000, and 2012. Outraged by his actions, Tammie reported him to the police, aware that bigamy is a crime in the U.S.
“I knew it was wrong, you not only have destroyed my life, but now you have destroyed somebody else’s life and all the parties that are involved in it,” Tammie explained. “You can’t go around lying and misleading individuals at your self-satisfaction,” she added.
Feeling betrayed, Tammie criticized her husband for not understanding the concept of divorce despite his multiple marriages.
Although Shorten has been charged with bigamy, he has not yet been arrested, according to court records reviewed by The Post. Shorten denied being married to anyone and claimed to be unaware of the bigamy charge in comments to KTRK.
If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
