World's first Facebook divorce

Man dumps wife with change in online status in what is probably the...

Man dumps wife with change in online status in what is probably the...

A woman discovered her 12-year marriage was over after her husband posted a message on Facebook. Emma Brady (39) learned of the posting when a friend telephoned to see if she was all right.

Not made for each other: Emma and Neil Brady on their wedding day. They have been married for 12 years

The message read: 'Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady'.

Her shock was all the greater because she and husband Neil (39) were still sharing a house at the time.

It is believed to be the first time a couple have separated using the social networking website.

The mother-of-one said, "We were like any other couple. We had our ups and downs but, as far as I knew, things were fine between us. When I got the phone call, I was shell-shocked. My first instinct was to phone him, but my friends at work insisted I should speak to him face to face."

The conference manager added, "When I got home, I asked Neil if he had anything to tell me and he simply said no. He acted like everything was fine.

"This whole thing has been really terrible. All the friends I have on the site are people I have known for years, so it's been really humiliating having everything happen so publicly.

"The irony is if he had just asked me for a divorce, I would have agreed, because I would never have wanted to make him unhappy."

Earlier assault

The bizarre way to end a marriage was revealed at Blackb- urn Magistrates' Court, which heard the tensions between the couple came to a head after they had both been out with colleagues at Christmas.

In the row that followed, Emma suffered a wrist injury when she was thrown out of the house wearing only a dressing gown. IT consultant Neil had pleaded guilty to the assault and was fined and ordered to pay compensation.

Neil's lawyer Gareth Price, defended his client, saying Neil had spoken to his wife several times and suggested a separation. He rejected her claim that the first she knew of it was on Facebook.
The couple have separated, but have yet to initiate formal divorce proceedings.