A Saudi groom has divorced his bride on their wedding night after seeing her face for the first time when the photographer asked them to pose for pictures.

The couple, from the Western Saudi town of Medinah, had agreed to marry each other despite having not met face to face – a popular custom in certain Middle Eastern countries.

But when the bride removed her veil and smiled for the camera, her new husband leapt to his feet in disgust.
“You are not the girl I want to marry,’ he declared. ‘You are not the one I had imagined. I am sorry, but I divorce you.”

Reports has it that the bride collapsed instantly, causing the wedding guests to intervene, although their intervention did not yield any good result.

The groom said he had not been able to see his bride’s face before marriage,’ Okaz reported. ‘When he divorced her, the bride collapsed and the wedding turned into a night of tears.’

News of the jilting was met with anger on social media.

Afra wrote on one social media network: ‘He caused her great pain through his irresponsible attitude, and he deserves to suffer.

‘He should appreciate that beauty is in the character, not the face.

‘Unfortunately, many young people today are interested only in looks and ignore values and morals.

‘May God give her a better husband who will appreciate her for who and what she is.’

Abu Nass added: ‘He is not man enough to assume his responsibilities. He is totally, completely insensitive.

‘Nobody has forced him to marry her. He should have insisted on seeing her before the wedding and the engagement, and not wait until the wedding night.

‘May he always be a loser and may he be deprived of getting married at all. He is not a man and he lacks basic feelings.