Before you go sending wedding announcements or posting pics of the beautiful ceremony on social media, it’s a good idea to make sure the ink is dry on your divorce papers from any previous marriages. Unfortunately, one Houston man is learning that very important lesson the hard way.
A woman who only wanted to be identified as Tammie told Houston’s ABC 13 that she learned her husband, Marcus Andra Shorten, was marrying another woman after seeing a post for a wedding registry on Facebook in December 2023. Tammie says the post was especially shocking because she and Marcus are still married.
Tammie, who is Shorten’s third wife, says the two got married in 2012 but separated in 2019. Although she brought up the idea of divorce to him more than once, he refused, saying he didn’t want his family to think of him as a failure.
ABC 13 found a marriage license for Shorten and his fourth bride, but were unable to find any documentation of a divorce from Tammie.
Although he is still a free man as of this writing, Shorten has been charged with bigamy, a third-degree felony, according to Texas law, which could come with up to ten years in prison. But the 53-year-old Shorten is doubling down. When asked by ABC 13 to confirm the news of the charges, he said he didn’t know anything about them and denies being married to anyone.
Tammie says Shorten’s actions were wrong ruining not only her life but his new wife’s in the process. She added that she got the police involved because she believed he needed to be held accountable.
“You can’t go around lying and misleading individuals at your self satisfaction,” she said. “I told him, ‘Before you let the whole world know what you’re doing, make sure your business is right.’”