Imagine how it feels like to be married for 26 years and suddenly find out that you’re both still single. That’s what Harry and Maria Gruber – who got married in 1983 at St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Church in the town of Sunshine, have found out -two children later.
Australian officials said the couple was among a number of others whose marriage certificate and proof of matrimony was never filed by Greek priests presiding at weddings. In the meantime, the Grubers raised their children and paid off their mortgage but ater they discovered three years ago what had happened they said officials refused to acknowledge they are legally married, even though they got the priest to sign an affadavit before he died.
But this story has a happy ending, unlike many marriages, because they’ve just been told that the department of Births, Deaths and Marriages would recognize their marriage and post out their new marriage certificate within weeks after having received a court order to do so. The couple said they’ve spent much of the last three years collecting paperwork and visiting office after office.
