Sexual infidelity, psychological incapacity (3)

Respondent’s psychological incapacity is incurable in that all his maladaptive behaviors became established and permanent pillars of his person, affecting all his functions, including how he behaves as a spouse. Further, his personality is so incompatible and antagonistic with the petitioner’s, considering Dr. Tayag found her to be overly dependent and seriously lacking self-efficacy. Taking these together, their marriage was bound for inevitable and irreparable breakdown, as it did.

The respondent’s psychological incapacity is grave and rooted in a genuinely psychic cause. As discussed above, his incapacity is deep-seated in his personality structure. His beliefs and actions went unchecked since childhood and it had become ingrained in his system until he developed antisocial personality disorder. Clearly, his condition is neither mild nor occasional.

In contrast, while Dr. Tayag diagnosed the petitioner with a personality disorder, the petitioner failed to satisfactorily establish how the same relates to her fulfillment of essential marital obligations. In any case, the psychological incapacity of one spouse is sufficient to declare a marriage void ab initio.

If legal separation is ordered by the court, parties stay married but are entitled to live separately from one another.

Considering the totality of evidence, this Court finds that petitioner established with clear and convincing evidence that respondent is psychologically incapacitated to fulfill his essential marital obligations. Thus, their marriage is void under Article 36 of the Family Code.”

Sexual infidelity as a stand-alone ground definitely is for legal separation only. If legal separation is ordered by the court, parties stay married but are entitled to live separately from one another. Sexual infidelity, however, can be alleged as a manifestation of psychological incapacity as discussed in the case above. And with that, should the court grant the nullity of marriage, there is no marriage bond to speak of between the spouses.

They revert to their status as single and may freely marry other partners. See the difference between legal separation and nullity of marriage? But see also how legal separation can be used as a ground both in legal separation and nullity.

The facts and quoted provision of the decision are from Aiko Yokogawa-Tan v. Jonnell Tan and the Republic of the Philippines (G.R. No. 254646, 23 October 2023).