A bizarre case of hidden bigamy involving a Greek advertising businessman who led a double life—having two wives, one in Greece and one in the Netherlands—reached the Greek Supreme Court.

The Dutch woman, with whom the businessman had a child, exposed him to the Greek “counterpart,” who sued for €300,000 in damages but was awarded just €30,000.

The Greek woman worked as an office employee at the advertising agency, while he was the majority shareholder and general manager. They started a romantic relationship and married in 2008 on an Ionian island. Despite efforts, including assisted reproduction, they had no children. He traveled frequently abroad for business and left her in charge of his business operations in Greece—unpaid.

Fake Divorce for “Tax Reasons”

After nine years of marriage, in 2017, he first brought up the idea of relocating his tax residence to Cyprus due to Greece’s high taxation for couples.

Soon after, he claimed that his accountants feared the Cypriot authorities would reject his request because his wife still lived in Greece, which meant his personal and economic ties remained there.

So, he took the next step. He proposed a fake divorce—an amicable, formal dissolution of their marriage without even appearing in court, assuring her they’d continue to live as a couple and it would just help with the tax residency move.

She initially resisted, but eventually agreed, convinced by his assurances that it was a “safe and common solution during the financial crisis.” He persuaded her to sign a private agreement for their mutual divorce. In June 2017, the divorce became final by decision of the Ioannina Court of First Instance.

Love Messages & the Revelation

Their “fake divorce” life continued normally. He traveled for supposed business to New York and Luxembourg, while she ran the Greek operations. They exchanged daily love emails with sweet messages:

• “Goodnight, my love / Good morning. What are you doing, my love, I desire you. I’m going to the office / Rest, baby / My love, my beauty / My wonderful little creature, I miss you / My heart, a lot of pressure here. I’m thinking of you / You’re my little bug / My passion / My little heart,” etc.

In those emails, he also mentioned his fake work trips: “We’ll fly to New York from Brussels in the morning / Landing now, my love,” etc.

But as revealed by the Supreme Court, on July 3, 2017, in the early hours, while supposedly in Luxembourg, he messaged her, saying:
“Se latreuo, ksekinao pali doulitsa” (Greeklish for “I adore you, I’m starting work again”).

Shortly after, she received another message:
“I am G.T., don’t bother us again. We have a daughter everyone knows about… I’m sorry, he told me you’ve been divorced for three years.”

Photos & Identical Messages

Along with the message came photos: one with him hugging a blonde woman, one smiling at a toddler, and one holding a newborn in a maternity ward.

The Dutch woman also sent emails he had written to her, containing the same affectionate words he used with his Greek wife.

According to the court, based on the Dutch woman’s testimony, the businessman was in the Netherlands with her during the times he claimed to be on business trips to the US and Luxembourg.

He not only lived a double life, but deceived the Greek woman into a fake divorce, exploiting her trust and removing her legal rights.

The Dutch woman had apparently met him back in 2000 when she worked briefly (2–3 months) at his company.

The Lawsuit

The Greek woman sued him for €300,000 in damages for moral suffering caused by his illegal and culpable violation of her personal rights. The court awarded her only €30,000.

Finally, the Greek Supreme Court rejected the businessman’s appeal to overturn the appellate decision against him.