One of the couples married on the controversial Channel 4 series Married at First Sight have had an annulment, after just eight months of marriage.
The marriage of Jason Knowles, 34, and Kate Stewart, 31, was annulled by a judge who accepted that Knowles had "wilfully" refused to consummate the relationship.
Criticised as "denigrating marriage" by Simon Calvert of The Christian Institute, Married at First Sight was a "social experiment" during which strangers married and spent six weeks co-habiting before deciding whether to opt-out of the commitment.
Knowles, a financial adviser, and Stewart, a fitness instructor, were matched by a panel of 'experts' and married on 22 February on the Channel 4 show.
Marital bliss did not last long; the honeymoon was cut short by Knowles so he could return to work in London. He was caught on the dating app Tinder just three weeks later.
Stewart requested a nullification and a family court hearing in London this week approved it, despite neither Knowles nor Stewart being present.
The hearing lasted less than two minutes and the nullification was approved on the grounds that Knowles had "wilfully" refused to consummate the marriage and Stewart would "find it intolerable to live with him."
"I knew I wasn't attracted to Kate from the beginning. She is a good-looking girl but after we married I didn't find her that attractive," Knowles said in July, according to The Independent.
"I don't think we were a good match. I've no idea what she thought – we never spoke about it."
The show was criticised by various groups when it came out last year, including Katharine Hill, director of Care for the Family.
"Healthy marriages that last a life time are built on friendship, good communication, the ability to resolve conflict and most of all commitment," she said.
"If these couples work at putting these ingredients in place these marriages may last – but much better to prepare for marriage by building a friendship and learning the skills and understanding the choices they are making before tying the knot."
