A 56-year-old grandfather has avoided an immediate prison term for bigamy after he texted his first wife to say he wanted to end their marriage before flying to Thailand to marry another woman.
David Curtis, formerly of Larchdale Close, South Normanton and now of Peel Mill, Commercial Street, Leeds, pleaded guilty to bigamy at Nottingham Magistrates' Court. He was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Wedding invites sent on Facebook
Curtis and his first wife were married in Chesterfield in April 2015. On April 4 last year, he sent her messages saying he wanted to end their marriage, according to prosecuting barrister Jade Salter.
Salter said Curtis took his passport and went abroad in May 2025, where it later transpired that wedding invitations were sent out on Facebook in October. A wedding ceremony took place on October 22, 2025, in Kap Choeng, Thailand, between Curtis and his new Thai wife.
Curtis was arrested on his return to England on February 26, 2026, at Heathrow Airport and made full admissions about the wedding ceremony.
Victim impact
In a victim impact statement, Curtis's first wife said she was "left feeling vulnerable and frightened" and described her ex-husband's actions as "impulsive". She said she was devastated to find out through social media that he was engaged and then that a wedding ceremony had taken place involving another woman. She was going through surgery at the time and was later made redundant.
Judge Sunil Khanna said: "You and (your first wife) were married on September 18, 2015 and on April 8 you sent her a text message saying you wanted a break but it transpired it was more than just a break you wanted."
"She was left humiliated and devastated as a consequence of what you had done to her. I have read her victim impact statement and it is clear this had a very distressing effect on her."
Defence and sentence
Curtis's solicitor, Tim Gaubert, said: "He sent invites out to his close family asking them if they wanted to come to the ceremony. It is not a case where he sneaked out (of the country) and got married. He put it in the public sphere."
Gaubert added that Curtis is now divorced from the complainant, has a good job, and takes home £3,900 per month. He has sought to build bridges with his extended family, including his brothers, mother, children and grandchildren, and there has been contact in that regard.
Curtis has no previous convictions. As part of the suspended sentence, the judge ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £650 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
