8 Worrisome Myths About Divorce And Annulments Most Catholics Don’t Realize Are Bogus

3.    Receiving a Decree of Nullity Means Your Marriage Never Existed

False. A decree of nullity simply states you and your spouse at the time did not have a sacramental/valid bond.

“Invalid” does not infer you didn’t have a marriage relationship, because of course, you did. You lived in a house as husband and wife, had children, pets, a mini van, etc. The question of validity refers to the spiritual/sacramental bond of marriage (a marriage is sacramental when both spouses are baptized Christians). Was there an unbreakable covenant between God and the spouses that cannot be dissolved by anything other than death? This unbreakable covenant or bond is what may never have existed.