At first, the woman named Jennifer Wilbanks, who disappeared from Duluth, Georgia the week of her massive wedding, was considered to be a missing person, and a victim of foul play. A massive search was undertaken. Instead, much to the public's shock and outrage, it turned out that Wilbanks deliberately ran away.
When Wilbanks ran out of money in a seedy section of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a cross-country bus trip that took her first to Las Vegas, she called 911 and claimed she had been kidnapped by a Hispanic man and a white woman. Hours later, her story fell apart, and she admitted to lying about the kidnapping story.
Wilbanks wasted tens of thousands of dollars in law enforcement time and manpower, for a missing persons investigation that never should have been. Wilbanks now claims she wants to pay restitution to the city, though it is not known whether it will be in a monetary or community service form.
Appearing in an interview with Sean Hannity, jilted groom John Mason relied heavily on his Christian faith, and claims he still intends to marry the woman that ran from him just days before their wedding was to take place.
Update: In May 2006, John Mason called off his wedding to Jennifer Wilbanks. Read what the About.com Guide to Marriage has to say on this development.
This story would seemingly be over, but the public is still enjoying this wacky drama. Wilbanks appears on the cover of a May 2005 edition of "People" magazine, and of course her wide-eyed image has been posted on tabloids ever since the story broke. She's made for great talk show fodder as well.
The Gwinnett County D.A.'s office has decided to charge Wilbanks with one felony count and one misdemeanor count for her false statements in the runaway bride case. Wilbanks already has a criminal past. The charges are mainly for shoplifting, but repeated offenses landed her two weekends in jail several years ago.
Wilbanks reportedly entered an inpatient facility of an undisclosed nature in mid-May 2005. There she was to seek help for physical and mental problems that supposedly triggered the entire runaway incident, according to a statement released through the family's church.
Jennifer Wilbanks appeared in court on June 2, 2005, and pleaded no contest to one felony count of lying to police. She received a two year probation sentence, 120 hours of community service, and a fine.
In October 2006, she returned to court, this time as a plantiff to sue former fiance John Mason for $500,000, claiming she never got her fair share from a book deal the couple made.
Jennifer Wilbanks and fiance John Mason did an interview with Katie Couric that aired on a prime-time news special and segments which will run on the Today show. This is the first and only television interview for the runaway bride.
In related news, Wilbanks has signed on with ReganMedia, who now have all media rights to Wilbank's life story. A TV movie could be on the horizon, and in 2008, a musical, Runaway Bride, debuted in Duluth, presented by Red Clay Theatre.
Vote Here on how you feel about "Runaway Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks.