Clive Bunden, man who married his mother in-law, Brenda, from Warrington, Cheshire, have now been together with her for more than three decades, despite the fact that he was once married to her daughter Irene in 1977.

According to report, the couple has been married for thirteen years and is still wonderfully happy, despite the unconventional start to their relationship.

Clive Blunden’s wife, Brenda used to be his mother-in-law and he was arrested after he asked her to marry him but audaciously they made history when the law was changed in 2007 and they tied the knot.

Their unusual coupling raised a few eyebrows but 10 years later the couple no longer had regrets.

The 65 year-old Clive said: “People thought we wouldn’t last but we are stronger than ever,” while his 77 year old wife added “We’re together 24/7 and there’s a magic to it.

“Clive is a gentleman and he looks after me. I can get a bit argumentative but he quietens me down.”

Brenda didn’t have any special likeness for Clive when he got married to her daughter, Irene. She disliked him the moment she saw him. Clive and Irene married in 1977 and had two daughters, Sarah and Tanya before divorcing in 1985. Four years after, Clive and Brenda entered into a secret dating.  Brenda explained how it all started thus: “We fell in love.

“One night, he took me for a drink and we ended up kissing.”

Brenda agreed to marry Clive in 1997, but a few days after they put their banns up at the register office in their hometown of Warrington, Cheshire, Clive was arrested and was told there was a “lawful impediment” to marrying his mother-in-law and was told he could be jailed for up to seven years if they went ahead with it.

They wrongly assumed they would be free to wed because Brenda’s first husband, Richard, had passed away and Irene remarried, so they rather had to settle for Brenda changing her surname to Clive’s by deed poll. But they felt this wasn’t good enough for the head over heels in love groom-to-be, who began campaigning for the 500-year-old law to be altered.

He explained: “I thought we should be married because we had been through everything together.”

“We were being stopped unfairly. I didn’t think it was right, so I wanted to change it.

”It was 10 years before a European court ruled a ban on in-laws marrying was a violation of human rights.

“I remember when we heard the news on the TV, in September 2005.

“I went down on one knee straight away and proposed to Brenda. I had tears in my eyes.”

They finally became husband and wife on March 17, 2007, at Warrington register office, the same place where Clive had married Irene 30 years earlier.

A good number of their families, including Irene, did not attend as it was only one distant relative who sent them a congratulations card as Brenda said: “Our families didn’t come because they didn’t agree with it. But all we cared about was being with each other.”

Clive, who gave a rendition of Westlife’s ‘You Raise Me Up,’ said: “It was a very emotional day. “It had been a struggle to get to that point but it was a wonderful day and we will always remember it.”

The newlyweds had a month-long honeymoon in Spain and become talks of the headlines, as they were instantly recognised. Brenda explained: “We went to Benidorm thinking we’d get away from it all.

“We got to the apartments and, God help me, they all knew who we were.

“The barman said, ‘Oooh, we’ve got celebs’. But everyone was really nice about it, we had a fantastic honeymoon.”

Clive in his words said: “Marriage to Brenda has definitely changed me. I felt different straight away.

“I was more relaxed. Until we got married I felt something was missing.

“We’ve been through a lot so to come out of it the other end is an achievement.

“What made it perfect for me is we can be on our own all day and still get along. We would do it all again.”

Talking about the qualities of her lover, Brenda said: “Clive is caring and lovable and he looks after me very well.

“We do argue and I think I have always been a challenge to Clive. But it is about give and take and trust.

“He does have some bad habits. His nail-biting drives me mad. I still joke about how much I disliked him when he was going out with my daughter and became my son-in-law.

“We don’t go out of our way to tell strangers how we met and when we do they don’t believe us.

“A lot of people thought it wouldn’t last but we can’t live without each other.”

Brenda who while on holiday to Benidorm earlier this year,had a health scare hinted on her health status as she added: “Oxygen wasn’t getting to my heart and they had to put a pacemaker in.

“Thankfully, I’m doing smashing now.  Clive’s my carer – he does everything for me. We’re still so happy.”