Indonesian media recently reported the bizarre story of a young man who ended up marrying both his fiancée and his ex-girlfriend at the same time, after the latter crashed his wedding ceremony.

Late last month, 20-year-old Korik Akbar, from the regency of Central Lombok in the Indonesian state of West Nusa Tenggara, was in the process of marrying his betrothed, when his ex-girlfriend burst in asking that she marry him as well, as his second wife, claiming that she couldn’t get over their relationship. Instead of making a scene, Akbar’s fiancée, Kotimah, actually agreed to the proposal and told the young man that she accepted his former fling as his second wife. So he ended up marrying the both of them in the same ceremony.

My husband’s ex-girlfriend (Yuanita) found out about our plans to get married on social media, as many friends were congratulating us. Because of that, she asked to be his wife too,” Kotimah told Indonesian reporters. “Minutes after we arrived at Korik’s house, she showed up and asked to be married to him too.”

The 20-year-old groom declared himself shocked to see his ex-girlfriend, whom he had known since 2016, but after talking it over with his family, he decided to marry both of them. They settled on the same dowry for both wives.

“I wasn’t expecting it and was shocked. But, upon discussing with the family, I made the decision to marry both the girls. The dowry for both was the same, which is 1.75 million Rupiah ($121),” the young groom said.

News of the controversial union sparked a heated debate on Indonesian social media, and Korik Akbar himself warned other Indonesian man not to follow his example, because they’ll find it hard to support two wives. The 20-year-old is currently unemployed and plans to travel to Malaysia to try his luck at a job, leaving the two women in charge of the family home. As you may have guessed, he is currently unemployed.

 

Although they hardly know each other, the two young wives said that they are ready to work together while their husband is away.

“Yes, you have to be ready, what can you do?” Kotimah told Kompas.