A Utah woman has detailed her "violating" divorce ruling as a warning for women who might potentially endure similar situations, after a judge ordered her to hand over an album of racy photos to her ex-husband.
Speaking to KSL News, Lindsay Marsh revealed that she was married to her ex-husband, Chris, for 25 years. As part of their divorce and division of assets, Marsh stated that the couple underwent negotiations and a one-day bench trial.
It was during this day in court that Judge Michael Edwards ordered Marsh to submit intimate photos of herself to the original photographer, who would edit them and return them to Marsh's ex-husband - which Marsh admitted felt incredibly violating.
"You don't know where to turn because you don't know the law. And you have not only your ex-husband who you were married to for years [thinking] that forcing you to distribute basically porn is OK… You have his attorney that also thinks that's OK. And then you bring it in front of a judge, and he thinks it's OK," she told KSL.
Judge Edwards ruled that the 'boudoir' images, which were taken of Marsh during her almost 30-year marriage and included heartfelt written messages, be handed over so "the words are maintained for memory's sake," per the Mirror.
Even though the judge noted the images would be edited so that images of Marsh "in lingerie or that sort of thing or even without clothing are obscured and taken out", the ruling left Marsh feeling "humiliated".
In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, Marsh stated: "It's violating and it's incredibly embarrassing and humiliating [...] These are things that were sensual and loving that I wrote to my husband that I loved. [He's] my ex-husband now.
"The only way I can hopefully protect someone else from going through the same situation is to tell my story and expose that these are the types of things that he thinks are OK," she added.
Marsh stated that the boudoir album was apparently the only thing her ex, Chris, fought to keep during their divorce process. The New York Post reported that this was finalized in July.
Per KSL, the original photographer - a close friend of Marsh - refused to edit the images as "her clients trust her with their images and privacy, [and] she takes that seriously."
As a result, judge Edwards ruled that the images would instead be sent to another photographer to edit. Marsh believed that this was someone her ex knew.
Recounting the stressful events to the Tribune, Marsh stated that she called the judge's clerk's office to ask whether this was a mistake: "I just want to clarify … The judge has ordered me to give nude photos of my body to a third party that I don't know without my consent?"
Eventually, the images were handed over to the photographer, who placed black boxes over Marsh's body in the more intimate images. The romantic messages were allegedly left unretouched.
"If all he was truly interested in was the inscriptions, he got those. I've complied with the court's order, even though I believe strongly that [the] order [is] violating on many levels," Marsh told KSL.
As for what happens now, the judge has ruled that Marsh will keep the original album for 90 days, should Chris demand alternate edits. After the 90 days are up, however, Marsh plans to hold a party where she will set them alight and burn them.
Chris also told his side of the story to KSL, stating that the images were not as racy as various news outlets had been led to believe.
"It appears that [Marsh] has intentionally misrepresented and sensationalized several aspects of a fair proceeding to manipulate the opinions of others for attention and validation of victimhood," he stated.
