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Johnny Gannon thought he’d live happily ever after following his marriage to Jamaican national Patricia Chambers. The 57 year old charity worker was left heartbroken, however, when his new, 24 year old bride left him only 20 minutes after having arrived at his flat in Perth, Scotland. The couple met two years ago whilst Johnny was holidaying on the Caribbean island and a romantic relationship ensued. Johnny then made regular trips back to Jamaica and following Patricia having suggested marriage, they tied knot during a ceremony in her home country earlier this year. Upon returning to the UK, Johnny immediately began applying for a visa for his new wife, paying for her to fly to the UK following it having been granted. As soon as Patricia arrived at Johnny’s modest council flat, she immediately sent her husband out for groceries. He returned 20 minutes later only for Patricia to inform him she was leaving him before leaving the flat and attempting to flag down passing cars on the street. Johnny has since informed the Daily Mirror that he believes that Patricia fled to Bristol in order to meet up with a Jamaican boyfriend who had helped her organise the scam. Not only does Johnny have to deal with heartbreak, though, he also has to handle the fact that he will now be unable to divorce Patricia for at least two years. In accordance with Scottish law, an individual that wishes to divorce their spouse must prove that their marriage has irretrievably broken down. Now, considering that Johnny’s wife left him within 20 minutes after arriving at would have been the couple’s matrimonial home you may think this this criteria has already been fulfilled, unfortunately, this is not the case. You see, in Scotland an individual is required to prove that their marriage has broken down for one of five reasons: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion or because the couple have been separated for a period of one or two years or more. Two and five year separation cannot be relied upon for obvious reasons – the couple having only recently separated – but it would still appear that any of the other three reasons could be relied upon and Johnny granted a divorce. This, owing to technicalities, is not the case. It would appear that adultery was suitable because Patricia fled in order to meet a Jamaican boyfriend. Such a claim would not succeed for a number of reasons, though. Firstly, in order for a divorce on the grounds of adultery to be granted, the respondent must admit to having had sexual intercourse with a person other than their spouse during their marriage. Most importantly of all, the respondent’s adultery must be the reason why the couple separated. As Johnny and Patricia actually separated as a result of Patricia choosing to leave, a divorce filed on the grounds of adultery would not succeed. Leaving your new spouse in such unceremonious circumstances certainly constitutes unreasonable conduct, but judges are notoriously pernickety when reviewing such reasons and it is therefore advisable that anyone applying for a divorce quotes at least four separate examples on their petition.  What’s more, any example of unreasonable behaviour quoted needs to have taken place during the marriage. As there only appears to be one instance of unreasonable behaviour, it is highly unlikely that Johnny would be granted a divorce if he filed on these grounds. Filing on the grounds of desertion is highly problematic and is rarely done as a result. It would also be necessary for Johnny to wait at least two years until he could file on these grounds meaning that, provide Patricia consented to a divorce, it would be quicker for him to file on the grounds of one year separation. Alternatively, if Patricia did not consent to the divorce, then Johnny could file on the grounds of two year separation and avoid the difficulty of having to prove that Patricia had deserted him. Even when the time comes when Johnny can file for a divorce, he will need to locate Patricia in order to serve her with the relevant documentation. This will inevitably lead to him needing to enlist the services of a private investigator, thus accruing further costs on top of £5,000 he is already reported to have spent on Patricia. All in all, then, Johnny is married to Patricia for at least one year whether he likes it or not and should Patricia attempt to gather further monies from him when he initiates divorce proceedings, may find himself subjected to financial as well as emotional hardship.