World's first Facebook divorce

A woman has discovered her six-year marriage was over after her husband posted a message on Facebook.

The world's first Facebook divorce came as a result of a status update on the social-networking website. The message simply read: "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady".

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Emma Brady of Baxenden, Lancashire, was not even aware of the update until concerned friends contacted her.

The 39-year-old spoke of her shame and anger at the public separation at Blackburn Magistrates Court, where her husband, Neil Brady, an IT consultant, pleaded guilty to assaulting her in a subsequent row.

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"This whole thing has been really terrible. All the friends I have on the site are people I have known for years so it's been really humiliating having everything happen so publicly," she said.

"The irony is if he had just asked me for a divorce, I would have agreed because I would never have wanted to make him unhappy," she continued.

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Neil Brady was fined £580 and ordered to pay £100 compensation and £75 costs at the hearing yesterday.

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