A lawyer has offered his services pro-bono to a Christian couple who pledged to divorce if same-sex marriage became legal.
Nick and Sarah Jensen, of Canberra, sparked controversy in 2015 when Mr Jensen announced they would end their decade-long legal union if gay marriage is legalised in Australia.
‘My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognise the government’s regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnisation of same sex couples,’ he wrote in Canberra’s City News in June 2015.
‘My wife is the only woman I have ever loved, the mother of our children, my perfect match, So, the decision to divorce is not one that we’ve taken lightly.’
Nick and Sarah Jensen, of Canberra, sparked controversy in 2015 when Mr Jensen announced they would end their decade-long legal union if gay marriage is legalised in Australia
However, he added that their divorce won’t be a tradition one.
‘You see, after out divorce, we’ll continue to live together, hopefully for another 50 years. And God willing, we’ll have more children.
‘We’ll also continue to refer to each other as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and consider ourselves married by the Church and before God.’
And since the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday that 61.6 per cent of Australians had voted ‘yes’ in the same-sex marriage survey, paving for the way for it to become law, it appears divorce is on the horizon for the Jensens.
There is a silver lining for them, however – Michael Tiyce, from family law firm Tiyce & Lawyers in Sydney, has offered to help the couple keep their promise to the country.
Michael Tiyce, from family law firm Tiyce & Lawyers in Sydney, has offered to help the couple keep their promise to the country – although says it will be a challenge
The Jensens vowed to end their legal union, but say they’ll still consider themselves ‘married by the Church and before God’
He’s offering his legal services at no charge to the Jensens because ‘quite simply, they are going to need it,’ he told news.com.au.
That’s because divorce the Jensens’ reasons to end their legal union don’t comply with the Family Law Act’s grounds for divorce, which require evidence that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, he said.
They would also need to be separated for a year before filing for divorce.
‘As I understand the position taken by Nick and Sarah, they intend to divorce, but still remain together and have more children,’ Mr Tiyce told news.com.au.
‘That makes things a bit tricky as they will be unable to establish the consortium vitae has ended.
‘Continuing to present as husband and wife to the world would, in my opinion, make it impossible for them to establish their relationship was at an end.’
Mr Jensen said the couple are planning to wait to see what changes are made to marriage law before publicly announcing their plans
Mr Tiyce noted that their situation is known in legal circles as ‘wedlock’ – a problem usually faced by same-sex couples who have married overseas and can’t always divorce in Australia because their marriage isn’t recognised.
He added that although that fact might be ‘uncomfortable’ for the couple and that’s why he’s offering to ‘help them out of the institution they support keeping closed to gays.’
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia ahead of the results this week, Mr Jensen said the couple are planning to wait to see what changes are made to marriage law before publicly announcing their plans.
‘We just need to see the legislation and if it all goes that way,’ he said.
‘Then we know what situation we’re in and what we’re going to do.’
The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday that 61.6 per cent of Australians had voted ‘yes’ in the same-sex marriage survey
He was coy about specifics and laughed when asked if he was feeling nervous about the vote.
Despite his fame, Mr Jensen – who previously worked for the Australian Christian Lobby – wasn’t on the front lines of the No campaign.
‘Our situation is a bit of a unique one from the rest of the No campaigners,’ he said.
‘In part, we’re affected if there is a bit of a change in law – I haven’t been out there on the front line campaigning.’
Mr Jensen’s 2015 column sparked such a reaction that more than 100,000 people signed up to attend a Facebook event called ‘Celebrating Nick and Sarah Jensen’s divorce’.
But it quickly led to questions about whether the couple could legally divorce without separating for 12 months – as is required by federal law.
However, the couple haven’t made any announcement signalling they had changed their minds since it was published.
Australian Bureau of Statistics boss David Kalish announced the result of the voluntary postal survey at 10am on Wednesday.
The Jensen’s home state of the Australian Capital Territory yielded the highest vote in favour of same-sex marriage – 74 per cent.