- Wife wants a divorce from husband saying their marriage of 40 years is loveless
- But he refuses to grant her a split, saying she had an affair and is just 'bored'
- She has led long legal fight, saying she should be allowed to divorce the farmer
- But courts, including now the Supreme Court, have found she has no grounds
- She must wait until 2020, when a separation of five years will make divorce legal
- Top divorce lawyer slams ruling, saying it leaves women in a position like slavery
The wife of a mushroom farmer who says she is trapped in a loveless marriage has lost her long-running legal battle to divorce her husband.
Tini Owens, 68, wants to end her 40-year marriage to 80-year-old Hugh Owens, insisting their relationship has broken down.
But - in a case which has led to calls for Britain's divorce laws to be changed - Mr Owens refuses to agree to the split.
Despite his wife having had an affair and the couple now living in separate houses, he says she is just 'bored' and insists they still have a 'few years' to enjoy life together.
Five Supreme Court judges today waved away Mrs Owens' pleas to let her end the union and ruled she must stay married.
Top judges backed previous court rulings that Mrs Owens has failed to establish that her marriage had irretrievably broken down, as required by law.
Tini Owens, who says she is trapped in a marriage which her husband, Hugh, won't let her leave, has lost her Supreme Court bid for a divorce. Judges found her marriage had not 'irretrievably broken down', as required by the law
A number of justices expressed their reluctance to make the ruling, but said they were bound by the law.
Speaking after the judgment was delivered, Mrs Owens' solicitor, Simon Beccle, said many people would find the Supreme Court decision 'hard to understand'.
He said she had hoped judges would make a decision which would be 'forward-thinking and fit with the current social mores'.
'Mrs Owens is devastated by this decision, which means that she cannot move forward with her life and obtain her independence from Mr Owens,' her lawyer added.
Mr Owens' lawyers meanwhile said he took 'no pleasure' from the legal process, but felt his wife's petition for a divorce should be contested.
The lawyers' statement said: 'He should not be unfairly criticised for attempting to save his marriage.
'He did not accept that his behaviour during the marriage was such as to justify the ending of the marriage by divorce. At the outset he hoped that there could be a reconciliation with his wife.'
The couple have been living in neighbouring properties in Worcestershire since February 2015
Mr and Mrs Owens married in 1978 and lived in Broadway, Worcestershire, judges have heard. Mrs Owens petitioned for divorce in 2015 after moving out.
They have two grown up children in their 30s, Katherine and Thomas, who is also a director of his father's haulage company, which made a £451,000 profit in 2015.
Mr Owens, who describes himself as a 'Mushroom Growing Specialist', runs a successful fruit and vegetable growing company near Evesham with a £7.2million annual turnover. He and his wife are the two main shareholders.
The couple have been living in neighbouring properties in Worcestershire since February 2015.
Mrs Owens previously told judges that her husband makes her feel 'unloved, isolated and alone'.
Her lawyer is demanding a change in the law by introducing 'no-fault' divorces, where a spouse does not have to prove that his or her partner has done anything wrong.
Supreme Court justices analysed rival legal arguments, which revolved around concepts of 'unreasonable' behaviour and 'fault', at a hearing in London in May and delivered a ruling today.
Lady Hale, Britain's most senior female judge, said: 'I have found this case very troubling. It is not for us to change the law laid down by Parliament - our role is only to interpret and apply the law.'
She said she had been 'reluctantly persuaded' that Mrs Owens' appeal should be dismissed.
Divorce laws are an 'abomination' and 'like slavery', says top lawyer
Ayesha Vardag slammed divorce laws in the wake of today's ruling
A divorce lawyer has said the Tini Owens case shows Britain's divorce laws are 'like slavery'.
Ayesha Vardag, President of Vardags law firm, she said of the judgement said: 'This decision leaves Mrs Owens trapped in a marriage to a man she has fought to the highest courts in the land to escape.
'In my view, the law restricting the right to divorce is a fundamental infringement of the rights to private and family life. I would go further and say it is a form of indenture or slavery.
'This kind of law has no place in a civilised society of equals. It springs from a time when men in England were allowed to beat and rape their wives. We do not allow forced marriage. How can force continuation of marriage?
'The freedom to choose whether one is married or not married is absolutely core to our autonomy. Any law which restricts it is an abomination and a real source of evil within our society.
'The government may have a lot on its plate but it needs to deal with this problem without delay. Given the broad consensus upon it it is hard to excuse their delay.'
Caroline Elliott, who is based at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, said there is a 'strong mood' for the introduction of 'no fault' divorce.
Ms Elliott said: 'Today's decision marks a missed opportunity.
'It had the potential to alter the divorce landscape in England and Wales for the better, but outdated thinking and the courts' inability to change the law has overcome logic and reason.
'England and Wales currently lag far behind other countries with their divorce laws and there is a strong mood for reform, which includes the introduction of 'no fault' divorces.
'Currently, couples have to apportion blame when citing unreasonable behaviour as grounds for divorce and this causes a huge amount of stress and strain on individuals and their families.
'Introducing 'no fault' divorces would go a long way in reducing conflict.'
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