An Austrian couple surprisingly divorced and remarried each other 12 times over the course of 40 years. While some might interpret this as a sign of a romantic, albeit tumultuous, relationship, investigators suggest it was all part of a scheme to gain financial benefits.
The couple, originating from Graz, Austria, first tied the knot in 1982 and remained married for six years. This was the woman’s second marriage following the death of her first husband in 1981.
After losing her first husband, the now 73-year-old woman started receiving a widow’s pension from the government. However, her eligibility for this funding ended when she remarried a year later.
Despite losing the pension, she received a €27,000 ($28,405) ‘severance payment’ as a settlement to compensate for this loss.
Six years later, the couple’s marriage allegedly ‘irreparably broke down’ due to the husband’s job as a lorry driver, which kept him away from home often, as reported by Newsweek.
Their divorce reinstated the wife’s widow’s pension, leading to a familiar pattern. Upon reconciling and remarrying, the woman again received a €27,000 payment for losing her widow’s pension.
Recognizing the ease of gaining these payouts, the couple proceeded to divorce and remarry 12 times over the span of four decades.
Altogether, the woman reportedly amassed €326,000 ($342,971) in payments.
Their most recent divorce occurred in May 2022, but the court denied the reinstatement of the 73-year-old’s widow’s pension. She attempted to sue the pension fund, but her claim was rejected earlier this year when the truth about her repeated marriages was revealed.
The Supreme Court declared that ‘the repeated marriage and subsequent divorce from the same spouse is abusive if the marriage was never broken and the divorces only took place in order to establish a claim to a widow’s pension’.
A fraud investigation has since been initiated, with a trial anticipated to follow.
Despite their repeated divorces, the court still legally recognizes the couple as married, according to Bild, even though their last divorce was two years ago.
Unfortunately, using marriage as a means for committing fraud is not unusual, as illustrated by a similar case in the UK.
Megan Clarke was preparing to marry Lord Bertie Underwood, but she became suspicious when letters addressed to various names started arriving at their home.
She discovered that her fiancé was actually a con artist named Robert Madejski, who had accrued $40,000 in debt using credit cards under her name.
Thankfully, Megan uncovered the truth before their wedding, leading to his arrest.