National attention is being given to a settled divorce dispute in Utah concerning racy nude photographs given as a gift.
Second District Court Judge Michael Edwards ordered Lindsay Marsh over the summer to hand over the edited so-called “boudoir” albums to her ex-husband Chris Marsh, whom she was married to for 25 years.
“You don’t know where to turn because you don’t know the law,” Marsh told KSL News. “And you have not only your ex-husband who you were married to for years (thinking) that forcing you to distribute basically porn is okay … you have his attorney that also thinks that’s okay. And then you bring it in front of a judge, and he thinks it’s okay.”
While Marsh says the ruling is violating and humiliating, her ex-husband contends she has “intentionally misrepresented and sensationalized several aspects of a fair proceeding to manipulate the opinions of others for attention and validation of victimhood.”
“I cherish the loving memories we had for all those years as part of normal and appropriate exchanges between a husband and wife, and sought to preserve that in having the inscriptions,” Chris told the Salt Lake Tribune.
The ex-husband said these were not “inappropriate-type books,” adding that some of the photos have been posted online.
Judge Edwards found that Chris “has the right to retain” the photos “and the memories they provide,” since the racy books were given as gifts, court documents outlined, adding that Marsh has a right to the photos, too.
So, the judge ruled that the albums be edited “so that any photographs of the petitioner in lingerie or that sort of thing or even without clothing are obscured and taken out, but the (photo inscriptions) are maintained for the memory’s sake.”
Following the ruling, Marsh recalled reacting, “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?”
She had to hand over the books to the original photographer for the editing process. The photog, who was at first reluctant to participate, was told to keep the photos on file for 90 days in case Chris is not satisfied with the edits, which, according to Marsh, he is not.
Though the photos are edited, Marsh says even the inscriptions are “violating.”
“That’s even violating, because these are things that were sensual and loving that I wrote to my husband that I loved,” she said. “You’re my ex-husband now.”
“Exes cannot be allowed to ask for such inappropriate things, their attorneys need to counsel their clients in a nonharmful, cohesive (way) … and judges need to uphold the law they swore to protect,” Marsh told KSL News.
“That was a gift given between a husband and a wife,” she said, reacting to potential critics. “I protect my privacy and my body and it’s not something I share (with anyone).”