Former Love Island contestants, Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury have recently announced their engagement. The pair met on Love Island in 2019 and have been going strong ever since. But what happens if they break up? Here, Weronika Husejko looks at what a separation looks like legally, and what would happen with their daughter Bambi.

As many will know from their Instagram accounts, they have lived together for some time now, pretty much since their exit from Love Island in 2019. They also had their first child together at the beginning of this year, a baby girl called Bambi.

Whilst the happy couple are probably making wedding plans for their big day as we speak, you may wonder- what would happen if they broke up before they tied the knot?

The rules that apply to engaged couples are generally the same as those which apply to cohabiting couples upon separation. This means that they could not make a financial remedy claim under the same legislation that married couples usually would, that being the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

TOLATA

In terms of any property that the pair own together, any disputes in relation to this would be treated as a “ToLATA” claim. This is because the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 is the legislation which deals with disputes relating to the ownership of property or land.

In a situation where the property was purchased by both of them and it is clear from the title deeds how the property is held, there is less scope for dispute. However, if one of their names are not on the title deeds, it can become more complicated and will depend upon a number of facts.

Schedule 1

As the pair also have a child, Bambi, they may also be able to make an application under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989.

This legislation allows separated parents to apply for various orders for the benefit of the child. This type of application is usually made by the parent with whom the child lives- so say if Bambi lived with Molly-Mae, she may apply for various orders under Schedule 1, depending on their respective financial circumstances of course.

Molly-Mae may be able to apply for the following orders on behalf of their daughter:-

• Periodical payments
• Secured periodical payments
• Lump sum
• Settlement of property
• Transfer of property

Other avenues

There are actually some other pieces of legislation which provide engaged/ formerly engaged couples with certain rights. One example is that a fiancé may be able to claim a beneficial interest in property owned by their former fiancé albeit this would only apply in limited circumstances e.g., if the non-owning fiancé had made a contribution to substantially improving the property.

In summary, Molly-Mae and Tommy have various legal avenues they may be able to pursue if they did split during their engagement however, they would be very much dependent upon their individual financial circumstances.

If you or someone you know is affected by the issues raised in this blog post, we can provide you with expert legal advice. For more information, please get in touch with our specialist team at hello@mcalisterfamilylaw.co.uk