A bigamist who told his wife he was going to work then flew to Thailand to marry a younger woman was caught out when he sent wedding invitations to family members on Facebook.
Contracts manager David Curtis, 56, sent a text message to wife Kirsty, 51, telling her he needed ‘space’ before boarding a plane to the Far East.
She later discovered he had sent invitations for a wedding to Kwanta Satipjan, believed to be 35, via Facebook and reported him to police on the advice of her solicitor.
He was arrested when he landed at Heathrow in February and has now been sentenced after admitting bigamy.
Curtis was spared an immediate jail sentence. Instead, a judge handed him a six-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.
Afterwards, Ms Curtis told how his actions had left her humiliated and devastated.
The couple, who both had two children each from previous relationships when they met, had been together for six years when they married in front of friends and family in 2015.
It is understood that Mr Curtis met Ms Satipjan in a bar in Thailand. He now lives with her in a ground-floor flat in Leeds after she moved from Thailand after the wedding, leaving behind her two young children.
David Curtis, 56, and second wife Kwanta Satipjan in a photo understood to have been taken on their wedding day in Thailand in November last year
The couple, who now live in a flat in Leeds, posted a wedding announcement on Facebook
Curtis, a contracts manager, admitted bigamy when he appeared at court in Nottingham
Ms Curtis, who lived with her husband in a smart detached home in South Normanton, Derbyshire, said: ‘The consequences of his actions will follow me for the rest of my life… he hasn’t just broken a marriage, he’s damaged my ability to trust, to feel safe, and to let someone into my life again.’
Ms Curtis, who was made redundant from her job as an after sales team leader after 20 years in February, told how her husband ‘left for work one day and never came home’.
She said that before he disappeared in April 2025 they had a family meal. ‘He told me he loved me,’ she said. ‘We didn’t have a row or an argument or anything.’
Ms Curtis then received a text message. ‘He told me he needed a break from our marriage and then blocked me on everything.’
She then noticed his passport was missing from their home.
She said he later claimed to be having a mental breakdown and ‘needed space’ and would finish a round-the-world trip before returning home.
Ms Curtis said she told him to ‘get on a flight’ and filed for divorce when he didn’t.
During this time she did not hear from him and had to undergo a serious operation which he knew about.
She later found he was in Thailand and was told about a wedding announcement that had been posted online by Ms Satipjan giving details of their marriage and ‘honeymoon in England, David’s hometown’.
The wedding announcement posted on Facebook – prompting a police investigation
David Curtis with first wife Kirsty at their wedding in Chesterfield in 2015
Kirsty Curtis, pictured, said her husband’s actions had left her feeling humiliated and sick
Jade Salter, prosecuting at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, said: ‘He was arrested on his return to England on February 26, 2026, at Heathrow Airport and, to his credit, he made full admissions about the wedding ceremony.’
In a victim impact statement, Ms Curtis told how she was going through surgery at the time and was later made redundant from her job.
She said she has been left feeling vulnerable and frightened, calling her now ex-husband’s actions ‘impulsive’.
She said: ‘She said she was devastated to find out through social media he was engaged and then there was a wedding ceremony involving another woman. She was going through surgery at the time and she was made redundant.’
Curtis appeared over a videolink with his solicitor, Tim Gaubert, for the hearing on Tuesday, when he admitted to bigamy. He has no previous convictions.
Mr Gaubert said: ‘He sent invites out to his close family asking them if they wanted to come to the ceremony. It is not a case where he sneaked out [of the country] and got married. He put it in the public sphere.
‘There is no doubt whatsoever that the victim was caused distress. There can be no two ways about it.
‘He is now divorced from the complainant, he has a good job and he takes home £3,900 per month.
‘He has now sought to build bridges with his extended family – his brothers, mother, children and grandchildren and there has been contact in that regard. Looking back he knows he should have dealt with things differently.’
As part of the suspended sentence, the judge ordered Curtis to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work. He was also told to pay £650 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
Recalling the moment she saw the wedding invite Ms Curtis told the Daily Mail: ‘I just felt sick.
‘It was just such a betrayal, it felt like 16 years counted for nothing and I was just chucked away like that.
‘I am still not sure why he did it, I had already filed for divorce so I don’t see why they couldn’t have waited.
‘He told people they had to get married because they weren’t allowed to hold hands in her village.
‘I think he just wanted to keep me there in case it didn’t work out.
‘I don’t want people to think I am some scorned, angry woman. It has been hard and difficult but I am doing OK now and she is welcome to him.
‘It is only when I look back now that I realise how controlling he was.’
Ms Curtis reported him to police on advice of her solicitor. She said officers initially did not take her seriously but she was then told he was to be arrested. Officers boarded his plane as he landed at Heathrow in February.
He initially pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court in May before changing his plea to guilty.
But Ms Curtis said: ‘He has never shown any remorse. He’s destroyed so many relationships and hurt so many people but he doesn’t care.’
Curtis declined to open his door to speak to the Daily Mail at his home, where neighbours said the couple ‘keep themselves to themselves’.
One said: ‘They’ve been there three or four months, tops. ‘When I saw her and then saw him, it raised my eyebrows, because he seems much older than her.
‘That’s what sort of made it quite noticeable. ‘She seemed much younger and quite attractive and he must be well into his fifties.’
