THE ex-wife of a bigamist has spoken of her “hurt and betrayal” at finding out her husband was still married when they tied the knot - and said he should have been jailed.

Juliett Bond married Cheal Sweetman on New Year’s Eve 2004 - despite Sweetman still being married to another woman, Amanda Madden.

Miss Bond told the Bucks Free Press today she felt her life with Sweetman was “a total farce”.

Before their marriage, 39-year-old Sweetman - who last week was given a suspended prison sentence by a judge at Aylesbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to bigamy - had the couple’s wedding rings blessed by monks.

Miss Bond, 37, said: “He let a minister bless our rings before we got married and it was all lies. The vows couldn’t have meant anything.

"He said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone. Well, what was his intention?

“The sentence he got wasn’t good enough. I’m not a vindictive person but he should have gone to prison, even it was only for a month, for all the lies he’s told and embarrassment he’s caused.”

Miss Bond only discovered about Sweetman’s marriage to Miss Madden after a solicitor’s letter landed on her doormat saying Miss Madden wanted to begin divorce proceedings.

Sweetman, of High Street, Chesham, had been divorced twice before marrying Miss Madden.

But Miss Bond, of Brockhurst Road, Chesham, knew nothing of Sweetman’s marriage to her.

She said: “I thought I was his third wife. I didn’t know anything about Amanda. I’ve never met her, but I’d like to.”

Speaking of receiving the solicitor’s letter, she said: “I had to read it a couple of times. I wasn’t sure what I was reading. It just seemed like, ‘No, somebody doesn’t do that’. It’s too unbelievable. Even when I reported it to the police I expected them to say it was just a mix-up. It seemed too far-fetched.

“I felt hurt because I just felt the betrayal. My life with him was a lie from start to finish and he deceived so many people.”

She added: “He’s an excellent liar. He’s somebody who says something and he truly believes it’s the truth.

“I don’t think he understands the humiliation I feel.

“I feel I have deceived people. People gave us wedding presents and I feel I’ve accepted those under false pretences.

“I’ve moved on, no problem. I feel sorry for any poor sod who ends up with him.”

Last week Sweetman's lawyer told Aylesbury Crown Court his client had married Miss Bond "for a genuine reason", with the prosecution saying he assumed he was divorced after sending a petition to the county court.

But Judge Roger Connor told him: "You must have known you were misleading the registrar about the fact that you were married to your third wife."