Texas judge orders man to marry girlfriend for picking fight with her ex

Tie the knot or do the time.

A Texas judge sentenced a hot-headed 20-year-old to a lifetime with his girlfriend. Instead of giving Josten Bundy jail time for picking a fight with his girl’s ex, Judge Randall Rogers ordered the lovebird to marry his sweetheart, the couple claimed.

Bundy said he wed 19-year-old Elizabeth Jaynes shortly after Rogers ordered the ultimatum, fearing the threatened jail term. But the court-ordered nuptials denied the young couple of the chance to plan the wedding of their dreams, they told KLTV.

“It just felt like we weren't going to be able to have the wedding we wanted,” Jaynes said. “It was just going to be kind of pieced together. I didn't even have a  white dress.” Bundy was charged with assault in February for a fight with Jaynes’ ex, he said. Her old boyfriend was “saying disrespectful things about Elizabeth,” so Bundy  challenged him to a fight.

“He stepped in and I felt like it was on and I hit him in the jaw twice,” he told the TV station. He continued: “I was raised with four sisters and if any man was talking to a woman like that, I’d probably do the same thing.” 

The ex wasn’t seriously hurt in the brawl but decided to press charges anyway.

That’s how Bundy ended up in Judge Roger’s courtroom last month.

He sentenced Bundy to probation with some very specific terms: The 20-year-old needed to write out Bible verses, attend counseling sessions and marry Jaynes, whom he had been dating for over a year.

KLTV

Judge Randall Rogers allegedly told Bundy he would have to serve 15 days in prison if he didn't marry his girlfriend.

The new fiancée was in the courtroom when the judge forced the wedding proposal on her.

“My face was so red, people behind me were laughing,” said Jaynes.

If Bundy didn’t make Jaynes his wife within 30 days, he would have to serve 15 days in jail, the judge said.

Worried he would lose his job if he did time, Bundy didn’t protest the forced proposal.

About six months into their relationship, the couple discussed getting married — but they planned to have a dream ceremony sometime far in the future. They wanted a spring wedding when the weather would be “not too hot and not too cold,” Jaynes said.

KLTV

The couple got hitched at the local courthouse in July.

“I would have worn a black tux with some yellow under it because I’m a Steelers fan,” Bundy said.

But with just a month to marry, the couple ditched their elaborate plans and set a date at the courthouse.

They gave their loved ones just 18 days’ notice, and only a few close family members could make it to the July wedding. Noticeably absent were Bundy’s dad and sisters.

Jaynes wore a white tank top and blue skirt — a far cry from the white dress she always wanted — and Bundy wore a blue polo instead of his desired tuxedo.

Only after the wedding did the couple consider the legality of the judge’s ultimatum.

KLTV

'I didn't even have a white dress,' Jaynes said of her rushed wedding.

Constitutional law attorney Blake Bailey said the court-ordered wedding was illegal. The lifetime sentence would have likely been shot down if the couple had appealed to a higher court, he told the TV station.

“To say you're not going to be criminally punished if you get married is way out of left field,” said Bailey. “It sounds like the old days of shotgun weddings, but not even the judge is capable of enforcing, what he thinks is best for some people in his court.”

Despite the rush to the altar, Bundy and Jayne said they do not regret their marriage.

They are planning a larger ceremony in the future — one that all of their family can attend and own planned on their own time.