GB News Investigation Reveals Open Polygamy Matchmaking Ads on UK Social Media Alongside Strict Benefit Rules

A GB News investigation found social media posts openly advertising polygamous relationships in Britain. Men posted in Facebook groups seeking second wives and attached specific conditions for prospective partners. A Muslim matchmaking forum also allowed users to filter for polygamy.

One post stated that any woman would first need to pass an interview with the man's existing partner and children. The same advertisement said the man could only ensure three to four nights' stay and preferred a woman with her own accommodation. Another post in a British Bengali matchmaking group said the second wife would likely spend most of her time living separately and instructed women to send CVs and pictures.

A woman posted on behalf of her husband seeking a suitable match as a second wife, adding that the candidate should understand the dynamics of a plural marriage. GB News reported that many such advertisements appear openly inside large Facebook matchmaking groups with thousands of members across Britain.

The matchmaking app Muslima, available on Apple's App Store and Google Play and accessible in the UK, lets users filter matches by whether they accept polygamy.

Options include Accept polygamy, Maybe accept polygamy, or Don't accept polygamy. Civil polygamy is against the law in the UK. GB News reported that polygamy can be practised in a religious or customary context without committing an offence, though the arrangement is not recognised by law and partners are considered unmarried cohabitants.

25 per week in Pension Credit or Housing Benefit. 25 per week, with additional payments for each extra spouse living in the household. The arrangements apply only to marriages legally contracted overseas in countries where polygamy is lawful before the families moved to Britain.

The DWP stated there are rules in place to ensure there is no financial benefit for claiming from a polygamous household and that only marriages that took place in a country where the practice is legal are recognised, resulting in very few, if any, households claiming this way.