The Christian couple who want to divorce if same sex marriage is legalised probably can't

The Christian Australian couple who have vowed to divorce if their country legalises same-sex marriage may not be able to follow through on their threat.

Nick and Sarah Jensen, who have been married for over ten years, wrote in an article for Canberra City News this week that as Christians they believe "marriage is not a human invention".

They treasure its God-given sanctity so highly they've decided to, err, divorce if the state decides to “change the definition of marriage” to include gay relationships.

However, their protest, if it comes to that, may not go as planned: the legal prerequisites for divorce in Australia mean that a couple must have lived separately for at least a year and there must be no reasonable likelihood of them living together again for an application to be considered.

Since the Jensens said they would continue to live together and call each other husband and wife, if they follow through with their promise to divorce they may have to lie - which would surely trigger another religious crisis of conscience.

Nick, the director of a Christian lobby group, believes that many other people in Australia feel the same way.

Legalising same-sex marriage is on the cards in Australia after the opposition proposed a private members’ bill inspired by the recent "Yes" referendum in Ireland. Many of the country's politicians, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, are still opposed to it.

More: Dumbledore and Gandalf got married in a ceremony that can only be described as magical