What was supposed to be a joyous wedding day turned into a nightmare for a groom in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, after a peculiar incident led to the exposure of his bride's astonishing past. The groom had connected with the woman, identified as Reshma, through a matrimonial site, and after initial phone conversations, she agreed to the marriage. However, moments before the wedding rituals were to begin, her refusal to participate in a traditional bathing ceremony raised suspicions that ultimately shattered the groom's dreams.

In Kerala, the pre-wedding bathing ritual, known as 'Nahanam,' is a significant part of Hindu wedding traditions for both the bride and groom, symbolizing purification before marriage. When Reshma was brought for this ritual, she flatly refused. This unexpected resistance immediately alarmed the groom's brother, who, acting on instinct, reportedly snatched a bag from Reshma's hand. Inside, he discovered documents pertaining to her previous marriages, revealing a shocking truth: Reshma had allegedly been married more than 12 times.

Police were promptly informed, and their investigation uncovered a pattern of fraud spanning a decade. Reshma, a resident of Udayamperur in Ernakulam, had reportedly used matrimonial sites for all her previous marriages. Her modus operandi involved fabricating elaborate stories to convince men to marry her, only to flee with their jewelry and other valuables shortly after the wedding. The police investigation further revealed that Reshma also has a two-year-old child.

According to reports, all wedding preparations, including the ceremony and banquet, were complete when Reshma's refusal to perform the 'Nahanam' ritual—insisting only on going to a beauty parlor—triggered the brother-in-law's suspicion. Upon the discovery of the documents, police were called. Reshma confessed to having married another man just 45 days prior and was reportedly planning yet another marriage with a man from Thiruvananthapuram in the upcoming month.

Despite the mounting evidence of financial gain, Reshma claimed that her multiple marriages were not for money but in a relentless pursuit of "true love." Police, however, suspect that the actual number of her marriages could be even higher, with many victims possibly not coming forward due to embarrassment. Records indicate that in 2014, while a degree student, Reshma eloped with a man from Ernakulam. After cohabiting until 2017, she separated and subsequently married four times by 2022. She had a child in 2023 and, astonishingly, married twice within a span of just 10 days in 2025.

What began as a minor disagreement over a pre-wedding ritual ultimately unmasked a large-scale matrimonial fraud, leaving the latest groom's dreams shattered and serving as a stark warning about online matrimonial scams.