There have been 25 cases of bigamy in Wales over the last decade where people have married a secret spouse or family behind their wife or husband's back. Data released by police forces in Wales revealed there were three cases being investigated from last year.
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.
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With polygamy, the spouses usually all know of each other, and frequently live together with the head of the family. In contrast, bigamists usually keep their partners secret from each other. However, if a polygamist then chose to marry again while in the UK, that would be classed as bigamy, and a crime.
Wales' most infamous case saw two mean fall victim at the hands of bigamist Karen Sherratt.
Chris Thomas married Sheratt on March 1, 2013, but he did not realise she was already married. Cardiff Crown Court heard Sherratt had married her first husband David Shakespeare in August 1998 and they had a daughter together.
The couple divorced seven years later and the following year, she married her second husband Peter Sherratt in September 2006. The relationship only lasted for 12 months and they eventually divorced last August, but in the meantime, she met Mr Thomas – a gas engineer who had previously served in the RAF. The pair met on a dating site in April 2012 and got engaged four months later, before marrying at the Holiday Inn in Cardiff.
Mr Thomas discovered his wife was already married when he came across a divorce petition from Mr Sherratt and ended their relationship straight away. Sherratt was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a £100 surcharge, in 2014.
Speaking in 2014, Peter said he started having serious concerns shortly after the wedding. He said: "She would tell me lots of little lies about where she was and what she’d been doing. Our shared accounts were always empty and I was really struggling financially to keep us afloat. When I asked her about our money problems she’d be evasive and cold. She was always hiding things from me.”
In Wales, the area with the highest amount of bigamy crimes recorded was Dyfed-Powys which recorded two cases in 2021. There was also another case being investigated in Gwent.
North Wales and Gwent has the highest amount of bigamy cases over the last 10 years, with seven crimes recorded for both regions. South Wales had a total of six cases over the last decade while there were five cases recorded in Dyfed-Powys.
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.”
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