Renee Zellweger has cited fraud as the reason for annulling her four month marriage to country star Kenny Chesney.

The actress filed the court papers in California – where the only grounds for annulment are if one of the spouses was under age, already married, of unsound mind, physically incapacitated or had committed “fraud” to obtain marital consent.

Zellweger released a statement saying the term was “simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny’s character”.

Zellweger also said she hopes the media will allow her and Chesney “to experience this transition as privately as possible”.

A source among Zellweger’s friends says she and Chesney were unable to reconcile the fact that she wanted him to live with her in Connecticut, but he preferred splitting his time between Nashville and his Caribbean home.

Zellweger’s fraud allegation is “very unusual for a high-profile case,” celebrity divorce attorney John Mayoue told E! Online.

“Fraud is a very high standard,” Mayoue says. “For a court to accept this for fraud, it’s going to have to be a very egregious situation.”






Related Stories: