Couple Shirk Their Extreme Pledge Against Gay Marriage

Amid a flurry of weddings expected to follow Australia's legalization of same-sex marriage Wednesday, there was also to be one divorce: Back in June 2015, Nick Jensen wrote an editorial explaining he and his wife of 10 years would dissolve their marriage as a "matter of conscience" if the government approved same-sex marriage. A Facebook event called "Celebrating Nick and Sarah Jensen's Divorce" was created in response and attracted more than 183,000 attendees, the Advocate reported at the time, but it seems the split will not come to pass. Continuing to argue that "a redefinition of marriage changes the agreement under which we were originally married," Jensen tells News.com.au his "previous public comments regarding civil divorce never envisaged me separating from my wife, but rather our marriage from the state."

But he says "the legislation currently makes it untenable for us to do this under the law." Jensen did not elaborate, and said he would make no other comment. He previously explained any divorce from his high school sweetheart and "perfect match" was to be in legal terms only and the couple would still consider themselves "married by the Church and before God." Australian lawyer Michael Tiyce says he offered to help the couple navigate hurdles en route to their goal, including an initial one-year separation required under Australian law. "My firm does quite a bit of pro bono work in family law each year in the gay, lesbian and trans community. I thought offering assistance to Nick and Sarah would be an excellent way of reaching out across communities," he tells News.com.au, adding the couple did not accept his offer. (More same-sex marriage stories.)