Mary Fitzgerald tied the knot with her fiancé Romain Bonnet on the second season finale of her Netflix reality show Selling Sunset.
But the celebrity couple were deceptive about their nuptials, as they were legally married for months before the series began filming its first season, according to documents obtained by TMZ.
The couple’s marriage license and the certificate of marriage show that the two were married at a Ventura courthouse on March 9, 2018.
Timeline snafu: Mary Fitzgerald, 39, was revealed to have married her husband Romain Bonnet, 27, months before her show Selling Sunset began filming, despite the two filming their wedding for the season two finale; shown in May 2019
Mary wouldn’t begin filming Selling Sunset until June of 2018.
The marriage documents show that a deputy commissioner of civil marriage officiated, while a woman named Nicole Young was listed as the witness.
Despite already being legally married, the first season includes a scene in which Romain, a French model, proposes to his wife.
The updated timeline on their marriage suggests that much of the show devoted to Mary’s relationship and her wedding preparation was staged for the benefit of viewers.
Secret: A marriage license and a certificate of marriage show that Mary and Romain had a courthouse wedding in March 2018, and the show didn’t start filming until the summer; still from Selling Sunset
Cautious approach? A rep for the two said they got a ‘civil union’ but didn’t tell anyone because they weren’t sure the relationship would work out long term; still from Selling Sunset
A representative for the couple offered up an explanation for the confusing marriage timelines.
‘Mary and Romain had a civil union a couple of months before the show began filming in June of 2018, but they chose not to tell any of their friends or family, as they were still trying to see if their relationship would work out in the long term,’ they explained to Us Weekly.
‘In their minds, they weren’t properly married until the wedding that was filmed during the show.’
Although their rep referred to their marriage, the third for Mary, as a ‘civil union,’ a marriage-like status that confers the same state benefits but none of the federal benefits of marriage, the certificate posted by TMZ appears to be a marriage certificate, and California doesn’t offer civil unions.
Hmm: Despite knowing the were legally married, Mary and Romain pretended they weren’t. He proposed at the end of season one and she planned her wedding in the second season; shown in November 2019
Mary and Romain’s screen time in season one should them getting closer and developing their relationship, and he proposed to her at the end of the season.
The Oppenheim group realtor’s chaotic wedding planning was featured in the seconds season, but she was left scrambling after her wedding venue fell through with only a week before the planned ceremony in October 2019.
The day was saved after one of her wealthy clients offered her the use of his opulent home for her second round of nuptials.
The planning and her relationship also caused a rift between Mary and her colleague Davina Potratz after Romain wouldn’t allow her to be invited after they had trouble getting along.
What a performance: Her co-worker and sometime villain Christine Quinn asked Romain if marriage was on the table in one scene, and he acted unsure, despite being secretly married
Mary’s coworker Christine Quinn, with whom she’s feuded on and off, nearly exposed the secret marriage during a joint birthday party for Mary and her coworker Chrishell Stause.
Romain said the couple had been together a little over a year after the women asked him about their relationship, and Christine asked if he thought he and Mary would be getting married in the future, but the already married model acted as if he was unsure.
Mary and Christine have recently tried to revive their one-time friendship, according to recent interviews.
Though Mary said she had fallen out of touch during a recent appearance on the Behind The Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast, Christine revealed in her own recent appearance that the two were on friendly terms again.
New pals: Despite feuding with Mary, Christine revealed to Glamour this month that the two had recently FaceTimed for ‘a good hour and a half’ and decided to give their friendship another try; shown in March 2019
She revealed that Mary had FaceTimed her a few days before a recent Glamour interview to bury the hatchet.
‘I was like, is this a butt dial? I couldn’t believe that she was calling me, I actually moved a work meeting because I wanted to talk to her,’ Christine said.
‘So, her and I were sitting on FaceTime for a good hour and a half. And then, you know, we just decided, let’s get together like, let’s do this. It was so nice because it was something that was weighing on me for so long. I don’t know why we let this silly stuff get in the way of the solid friendship that we did have. I’m glad that we came to a really great place.’