In Brennan v. Albertson, No. 2042-11-4, 2012 Va. App. LEXIS 240 (Jul. 24, 2012), the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed a Fairfax County Circuit Court order granting former husband’s motion to terminate his spousal support obligation because former wife had been cohabitating in a relationship analogous to marriage with another woman for more than one year. There was no finding that the relationship was romantic or sexual.
The Court of Appeals held that a romantic or sexual relationship is not a prerequisite to finding that a party is cohabitating in a relationship analogous to marriage. The parties were divorced in 2007, and in November of that year, former wife’s friend moved in to her home. Under the terms of the Final Decree of Divorce, former husband was obligated to pay spousal support through June 1, 2019. Former husband filed his motion in April 2011, alleging that former wife was cohabitating in a romantic relationship analogous to marriage for more than one year with her friend. The trial court did not find that the two women had a romantic or sexual relationship, but nonetheless granted former husband’s motion. The Court of Appeals noted that the two women lived together with their respective children, shared meals together, vacationed together, shared household chores, and shared a strong bond of mutual trust and interdependency.
In his dissenting opinion, Chief Judge Felton argued that the trial court erred in ruling that two women could be in a relationship analogous to marriage under Virginia Code § 20-109(A). Chief Judge Felton cited numerous Virginia Supreme Court opinions to stress his point that the General Assembly intended for such relationships to be between a man and a woman.