Rep. Alan Grayson is asking a court for an annulment, claiming his estranged wife is guilty of bigamy.
Judge Bob LeBlanc heard arguments from both sides in an Orange County courtroom Monday. The hearing will be continued until a later date.
Grayson claims his estrange wife, Lolita, was married to another man when she and the multimillionaire congressman married in 1990 in Virginia.
Lolita said she divorced Robert Carson in 1981. However, the papers were filed in Guam and no one has been able to produce the divorce documents.
Grayson's attorneys said the divorce was not granted until several years into the couple’s marriage. Now his millions are at stake.
“The law is abundantly clear,” said Grayson’s attorney Mark NeJame. “In fact, it’s a felony if you marry someone else while you’re married. That’s how serious this law is.”
NeJame said this isn’t about the money and that Grayson has and will provide for the couple’s five children.
Lolita’s attorneys said the certificate from Broward County isn’t valid and the congressman is just trying to avoid paying alimony.
“No wife of 25 years, who has five children of the marriage, should have to go back 34 years ago to a foreign country to try and evidence her divorce from a prior marriage. That’s not what the law asks for,” said Mark Longwell, Lolita Grayson’s attorney.
LeBlanc will decide if an annulment can be granted on grounds of bigamy after another hearing.
This is not the first time the couple’s drama has come to light.
Last year, Grayson released a video of Lolita allegedly hitting him. The release came after she claimed he abused her and filed for divorce.