Groom jilted at the altar sues his would-be bride for £450,000

An Italian bridegroom jilted at the altar by his future wife is suing her for €500,000 (£443,000) in compensation for the 'emotional distress' of being dumped.

The case emerged from legal papers filed by the 32-year-old groom - named only as Riccardo R due to privacy laws - against his runaway wife, who left her brother to make her excuses.



Riccardo is seeking damages for the 'emotional and financial stress' he suffered after he was ditched at the altar in front of stunned family and friends, as he waited for his unidentified 30-year-old bride.



Dumped: In the first case of its kind, an Italian man is suing his bride after she jilted him at the altar

According to the court papers he had spent thousands of Euros on the church wedding, which was due to take place in Rome two weeks ago, including a lavish reception at a top hotel and a luxury honeymoon in the Pacific.



His legal team added that Riccardo had needed hospital treatment for 'hyperventilation and stress' after being told by the bride's brother that she had left him as she was 'in love with another man.'

The case has been filed in the Rome civil court and is thought to be the first of its kind. A medical certificate showing Riccardo's admission to the city's Fatebenefratelli hospital was also submitted as evidence.



Documents also showed how the compensation claim was broken down into €229,000 (£203,000) for costs associated with the wedding, €150,000 (£133,000) for moral damages and €120,000 (£106,000) for psychological damages for being dumped as well as €1,000 (£886) court costs.



In his statement Riccardo, an office manager from Rome, added that he and his family had spent thousands on refurbishing an apartment his bride had chosen and 'furnished to her own tastes.'



His lawyer Anna Orecchioni said: 'Understandably my client was left very shocked and distressed by what happened, as well as very embarrassed by the whole affair and considerably out of pocket.



Water under the bridge: Riccardo, an office manager from Rome, says he and his family spent thousands on refurbishing an apartment his bride had chosen

'He had no indication that this was about to happen - in fact the night before he and his friends had carried out the traditional pre-wedding serenading of the bride outside her house and she had been very enthusiastic about the whole ceremony.



'On the day in question Riccardo was at the church in time with his mother waiting patiently for his bride to be - who was already late - when he was approached by her brother as he stood by the altar.



'Riccardo was nervous enough as it was his wedding and the bride was late and her brother simply said she had called it off because she was in love with another man. There was amazement and the priest had to inform the congregation it was cancelled.



'My client needed treatment for stress and hyperventilation in hospital following the news. Now we have decided to take action against the bride because of what happened and we are asking for €500,000 compensation.



'The only good thing to come out is that at least they did not enter into the marriage which would obviously not have been a very happy one and that would have led to a very probable messy divorce.'