Manama: A Saudi bride filed for divorce on her wedding night when her would-be husband received a phone message informing him that he lost all his money in stock markets.
The message that he lost SR1 million ($266,000) meant that the man would be in deep debt and trouble.
The distraught groom shared the information with his wife-to-be who immediately said that she did not want to go ahead with the wedding.
Under the double blow of losing his money and his would-be wife, the groom collapsed and he had to be taken to hospital for urgent treatment, Saudi daily Okaz reported.
The man reportedly also lost his home as fallout of the financial speculations, relatives told the newspaper.
He later said that he developed a strong penchant for stock markets after making good gains in the early stages.
However, he said that was lured by greed and thought that he could make more money quickly, using all the money he had without thinking, even for fleeting minutes, about possible risks.
Divorce rates in Saudi Arabia and the other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are among the highest in the region, prompting several social and legal experts to press for organising workshops for couples planning to get married, particularly if they are young.
They also called for launching campaigns to promote awareness among people planning to get married about the responsibilities of marriages and starting families.
