Let's get married again

These words will accompany the nuptials of Lyn and Geoff Hennig when they tie the knot - for the second time.

Lyn and Geoff originally married each other in 1990 but divorced, acrimoniously would be an understatement, three years later.

However, the couple still continued to live under the same roof - an arrangement that obviously rekindled the love they once had. And on Saturday, February 27 they'll re-marry at Mere Hall register office, older, wiser and £27,000 out of pocket.

"People should think before they go through a divorce," says Lyn from in Harwood, "it can be too easy - it's also very expensive, we lost our beautiful home and a lot of money, not to mention the heartache" Second time around, they're determined to have the wedding THEY want and that includes Lyn getting wed in black and burgundy instead of the traditional white or ivory.

"I'm a bit of an eccentric," she laughs, "but we're determined to do it our way this time."

Their extraordinary story starts in 1989 when Lyn and Geoff first met. They'd both been in previous relationships and had children from each, Geoff, two, Lyn, three.

"I fancied him right from the start," laughs Lyn, an effervescent blonde whose glowing skin and trendy clothes belie her 48 years.

"I think he noticed me because I had my hair completely shaved on one side of my head."

Within 12 months the love-struck couple had married and set up home in Bradshaw Meadows. Geoff's long-established central heating business was going from strength to strength and everything looked rosy.

"But my ex wife had taken my two young children to America to live with her new partner," explains Geoff - a quietly spoken 44-year-old whose easy-going manner only compliments Lyn's vivaciousness. "And it was really affecting me. I missed my kids and I suppose things started to go wrong from there."

Lyn agrees: "It was all bad timing really - we fell in love at the wrong time. My beloved grandfather was dying and I spent every waking second at his hospital bedside."

Cracks began to show and within three years things had grown so unbearable Geoff told Lyn he was going to see a solicitor - he wanted a divorce.

"That's when war was declared," laughs Lyn, "and I bounced off to see my own solicitor.

"Well, to be honest it was one Geoff knew - he used to service his central heating - so I reckoned he'd be perfect."

Throughout divorce proceedings, Lyn and Geoff remained in the marital home where they staged some "pretty magnificent" rows for the neighbours.

"Have you ever seen that film, The War Of The Roses," asks Lyn, "well it was exactly the same," she laughs, glancing at Geoff.

"Probably worse," he says, wincing at the memory.

It was certainly a case of one upmanship as the Hennigs battled it out for the next 12 months.

"We'd pass each other on the stairs," she says, "I'd hiss 'b*****d' and he'd sneer and spit 'b***h'. "We were furious with each other, but even more furious with our friends who'd said the marriage wouldn't last," laughs Lyn, "they'd been proved right."

And the arguments were memorable.

"During one particular animated one," Lyn says, "I whacked Geoff over the head with a wok - you could hear the sound reverberating all through the house."

Then there was the time she locked him in the house while she rang the police from a neighbour's.

Lyn sheepishly explains: "Geoff is not a violent man - he's so laid back and considerate - but this particular row was a little over the top."

Geoff leans back in his chair and takes up the story: "I think I was running after Lyn but she slipped past me and ran out of the house."

She remembers: "I locked the door behind me and I can still picture his red face at the window - ranting and raving because he couldn't get out. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."

However, when the police arrived they were slightly more reluctant to see the funny side. "They told us if we didn't quieten down, they'd arrest the pair of us," giggles Lyn.

When things got too heated, Geoff would stay at his pal's house across the road leaving Lyn to go out on the town with her friends.

"I'd come home pretty much the worse for wear," she admits, "and Geoff would be peeping through the curtains watching me stagger up the garden path."

By now the divorce was drawing closer and, unbelievably, things were getting even worse in the Hennig household.

Amid a tense and frosty atmosphere, the sparring couple continued with their war of nerves.

"Geoff would get the electricity cut off and I, in turn, would have a new meter installed," says Lyn.

"She would have my phone cut off - so I would do the same to her," Geoff smiles, shaking his head.

"And I remember looking for a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger," howls Lyn, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, "I wanted to paste it over Geoff's face on our wedding photo we had on the lounge wall."

Then came the day the divorce was final.

But there were no celebratory parties, no Champagne corks popping, just two tired people who suddenly realised they'd nothing left to fight over.

They'd lost their home, their money and each other. "It hit me like a slap in the face," says Lyn softly. Glancing over at Geoff she says: "I suddenly realised I'd been fighting with someone I really loved and I didn't want to lose him.

"I mean, why had we stayed in the same house? I think we both knew there was still something there but the divorce proceeding had simply rollercoastered.

"The bottom line was - I wanted him back."

But convincing Geoff was a different matter.

"I didn't want to know," he says. "We'd just gone through the most horrendous divorce and some of the worst arguments ever and she wanted me back. I couldn't figure it out."

But Lyn had made her mind up. "I went down on bended knees," she says, "really grovelled.

"And he made me suffer - I had to beg him to try again."

Her persistence finally paid off and the couple decided to give it another go.

"But this time we knew it had to be for keeps," says Geoff. Our friends and family thought we were mad - we probably were - but we knew we really loved each other."

But things weren't that easy. Because of cash problems, brought about by the divorce, Geoff and Lyn had sold their house and now had to search for another.

"It took us a while to find this one," says Geoff, casting a glance round their impeccable home, "but when we saw it we knew it was the one we wanted."

So now wedding number two is all planned - the date's set, the venue's booked and the clothes bought.

"I'm getting married in black and burgundy," says Lyn excitedly, "and my 29-year-old daughter, Lyn and my granddaughter, Kelly, who's four, will be bridesmaids."

Geoff's 16-year-old son, Daniel, will be best man and his daughter, Clair, 19, will also be there. Lyn's two sons, Shaun, 28, and David, 21, will make up the family occasion. "Some of our family are still a bit miffed," says Lyn, "and who can blame them?

"But we know we're doing the right thing."

Both Lyn and Geoff think divorces are "too easy" to get. "Had we taken a step back and really thought things out - had a breathing space - we probably wouldn't have gone through with it," says Geoff.

"I think there should be counsellors who can talk to you,"adds Lyn, "not marriage guidance, but someone to speak to just before you file for divorce - like a last resort."

With that, the couple stroll into the garden to pose for the BEN's photographer. They laugh, cuddle and kiss - they were obviously made for each other.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.