Jilted Bride Rosemary Shell Awarded $150,000

When jilted bride, Rosemary Shell, was recently awarded a $150,000 judgment against her former fiancé, Wayne Gibbs, in a Georgia court, many people questioned the decision. The story, which I read at Access North Georgia, struck a chord with me, as our son was just married, and our daughter's wedding is two months away.

According to Shell, she saw the engagement as a binding contract, claiming Gibbs promised her marital bliss. Gibbs broke the engagement by leaving Shell a note in the bathroom, and I have to wonder if the breakup had been in person, would she have resorted to litigation? It reminded me of the Sex and the City episode where Carrie's lover jilts her via a note.

As for our own two children facing that promise of marital bliss, I can imagine the overwhelming heartbreak if either experienced Shell's abandonment, yet I cannot fathom taking the once fiancé to court.

Several years ago a friend was upset when his daughter's boyfriend broke up with her. The two had been dating for about three years, and the jilted girl was devastated and heartbroken. The father was so upset, hating to see his daughter in pain, that he wanted to go the young man's house and introduce him to the battering end of a fist.

In this case the young man showed far more courage than Gibbs, as he broke up in person. He did not want to hurt the girl, he simply had fallen out of love. I told the father that the former boyfriend had every right to break up with the daughter. We can't choose who we fall in and out of love with, and to force it with a fist or in court is absurd.

With the growing number of Scott Peterson stories in the news, where husbands opt murder over divorce, it seems the last thing society should do is encourage courts to penalize fiancés of any gender for breaking up.

But, there seems to be more to this Georgia story than a broken promise of marital bliss. In one account Shell claims she altered her life to accommodate Gibb's promise of marriage, which included leaving a high paying job and making financial sacrifices. After Gibbs jilted her via a note, Shell claimed to have suffered severe financial hardship.

Hearing that part of the story made me begin to understand the judgment, and why the jury made that determination. But in another account, Gibbs claimed he broke up because he discovered Shell was in more debt than he realized, and had already paid $30,000 of her expenses.

In any case, the story should serve as a lesson to those who wish to end a relationship: a Dear John Letter may not be the best idea.

Sources:

http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=211771&c=10