SC: Disorder Preventing Love May Void a Marriage

Forcing him to stay in a loveless marriage, the Court said, would be unjust.

Published on Jun 27, 2025

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that if a spouse cannot love or emotionally connect with their partner due to a psychological condition, the marriage can be declared void.

In a decision written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC upheld the earlier ruling of a Regional Trial Court (RTC) that declared a marriage void from the beginning. The Court found that the husband’s proven psychological incapacity made him unfit for the responsibilities of married life.

Also read: A Lawyer Who Refused to Provide Sustento For Family, Disbarred By SC

The Couple’s History, According to Court Records

The couple met in 1999 and had a secret civil wedding in 2002. At the time, the husband was working in Saudi Arabia. They did not live together until much later. In 2004, they had a church wedding during one of his visits to the Philippines. He came back in 2005, and they lived together only from time to time. They had two children, born in 2007 and 2012, but shared a home for just about five years in total.

Their relationship was unstable. They often spent time apart, argued frequently, and grew emotionally distant.

In 2016, the husband filed a petition to nullify their marriage. A psychologist diagnosed him with Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder, which impaired his ability to form and sustain close relationships.

The RTC initially granted the petition but later reversed its decision after the Office of the Solicitor General questioned the due process. The Court of Appeals later denied the husband’s appeal.

Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, stating that he had proven psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code.

What the Law Says

Article 36 states that a marriage is void if one or both spouses are psychologically unable to fulfill essential marital duties. This incapacity must exist before the marriage, even if it only becomes visible years later.

The SC said psychological incapacity can appear even after marriage. A spouse who seemed capable at first may later become unable to fulfil marital duties. If this is due to a real psychological condition, the marriage can be voided.

In this case, the SC found the husband’s emotional detachment came from his strict and distant upbringing. He could provide financially but could not meet his wife’s emotional needs, even for basic companionship.

The SC emphasized that “Loving one’s spouse is an important, if not the most important, essential marital obligation.”

It found that the husband no longer loved his wife, and that his inability to love her was rooted in his personality disorder, which stemmed from having an emotionally immature parent. Because of this, the husband “must not be forced to stay in a loveless marriage, and his marriage to [his wife] must be voided.”

Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez wrote a dissenting opinion. He said the husband failed to prove that his condition existed before the wedding. Lopez pointed out that by the husband’s own account, he had once been a loving and supportive partner. He argued that a change of heart should not be mistaken for psychological incapacity. Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr. supported Justice Lopez’s dissent.

Click here to read the legal grounds for declaring a marriage void in the Philippines.

Hanna is a News Desk Writer at Smart Parenting, covering parenting, health, culture, and more. Off the clock, she’s likely people-watching at a café or park, matcha latte in hand.