Hiding homosexuality from spouse is fraudulent, may justify annulment—SC
The Supreme Court has ruled that hiding one's sexual orientation from their spouse can be considered fraud and may justify annulment.
The High Court's second division annulled the marriage of a woman whose husband hid his homosexuality before they got married. In a Decision by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr., made public on July 15, he ruled that the woman's consent to marriage was obtained through fraud.
Detailing the case, the couple met when the man sent her a friend request while he was working in Saudi Arabia, and officially became a couple a year later. During their first date in 2012, the woman noticed that the man seemed distant—they neither kissed nor held hands. He also avoided sitting beside her during meals or while commuting. For his part, the man explained that he was just shy and lacked confidence.
They continued their long-distance relationship because the man had to go back to work in Saudi Arabia. They got married in 2013 and lived together briefly. At the time, the man would avoid intimacy and would initiate arguments that would lead to him sleeping in a separate room.
He then returned abroad and stopped communicating. He only sent a message to his wife on their first wedding anniversary. But two years later, the woman found magazines with half-naked and nude male models in her husband's belongings. When she confronted him about it, he admitted that he was homosexual.
In 2017, she filed for an annulment, claiming that her consent to the marriage was based on fraud and she wouldn’t have married him had she been aware of his sexuality.
Both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals denied her petition, citing the lack of merit in proving the man’s homosexuality or that he deliberately concealed his sexuality to persuade her to marry him. The courts also said the testimonies were "self-serving and unverified by other evidence."
For its part, the SC disagreed with the lower courts, stressing that marriage will only be valid if both parties consent freely.
"Article 45 of the Family Code states that a marriage can be annulled if one party’s consent was obtained through fraud, as long as the couple did not continue living together after discovering the fraud. Article 46 further specifies that hiding one’s homosexuality or lesbianism from a spouse is considered fraud," the decision read.
They also noted that the man's admission and "unexplained silence" when he was being questioned about his sexuality further solidified the woman's claims.
"Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of a conjugal and family life," the eight-page decision read. "Thus, a marriage may be annulled when consent was obtained by fraud," it added.
The SC officially annulled the marriage in June 2025.
"No woman would put herself in a shameful position if the fact that she married a homosexual was not true. More so, no man would keep silent when his sexuality is being questioned, thus creating disgrace in his name," it said.
