Manama: A disgruntled Saudi wife shamed her husband by storming into the hall where he was celebrating his marriage to a second wife.

The wife reportedly forced herself in the all-men wedding hall and started screaming and shouting at her husband, prompting the embarrassed guests to withdraw discreetly and avoid the humiliating scene.

The husband, under the shock and aw of the surprise, remained motionless while his wife took out her anger on him for deciding to take a second wife without informing her, local daily Makkah reported on Thursday.

Members of the woman’s family were with her as she expressed her anger and voiced her deep resentment at her husband, minutes before his second marriage would be consummated, the daily added.

Social media users were divided over the merit of the first wife’s public act, but most of them sympathised with her.

“She should have been more cautious in her approach as she lives in a conservative society and she needs to respect its traditions,” Muoaddad, a blogger, wrote. “The best reaction should be to divorce her.”

Another blogger, Manhood, said that the husband should have silenced her by all possible means for “trespassing social and family red lines.”

However, other users applauded the wife’s courage to confront her husband over something that affected them both.

“He should have told her that he had plans to take a second wife,” Abu Danah said. “He should have sat with her and explained the reasons for taking a second wife. At the same time, he should anticipate angry reactions and negative attitudes from his first wife and know how to deal with them,” he said.

Another blogger, Saudia, said the wife was “absolutely right” to shame her husband in front of the guests.

“She has obviously tried to please him for years, but her reward was a second wife that he wanted to marry secretly,” she said. “That is absolutely unfair and it is not condoned religiously or socially or morally.”

In her comments, Lujain, another blogger, said that the husband should have been open with his wife.

“He should have told her about his plans and allowed her to decide whether she would accept them or ask for divorce,” she wrote. “Getting married a second time secretly amounts to pure cheating and I support her move to shame him. He deserves to be hurt the way she was made to suffer.”