Monday, January 05, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Britney Spears marriage over

Judge signs order of annulment

Britney Spears Jason Allen Alexander

Britney Spears' weekend marriage to a longtime friend was annulled today by a Southern Nevada judge. District Court Judge Lisa Brown officially annulled the marriage between Spears and her new husband, Jason Allen Alexander, at approximately 12:20 p.m. when she signed an order of annulment.

The judge determined the couple did not "have a meeting of the minds" regarding their early-morning marriage at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip, said Spears' attorney, David Chesnoff. Her attorney confirmed the judge's ruling for the Review-Journal and also offered the first comprehensive explanation as to why the marriage unfolded in the first place.

Chesnoff said Spears and Alexander obtained a marriage license and carried out the ceremony Saturday morning, but the two were under the mistaken impression that they wouldn't be legally married unless they returned to the Clark County Marriage Bureau and formally filed their license and certificate of marriage with the court.

Unfortunately for the couple, once a marriage license is obtained and a ceremony is carried out, the chapel is required by statute to file a record of marriage.

"Both were under the impression they had to return the license and file it for them really be married," Chesnoff said. "They didn't know that the chapel does that by statute."

Posted: 1:20 p.m.