Star says marriage was for love, not card

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Mexican soap opera actress Fernanda Romero denied her marriage was a sham engineered so she could get a U.S. work permit during a federal trial in Los Angeles.

Romero told jurors in the Los Angeles courtroom she really loved Kent Ross, the pizza deliveryman she married five years ago, CNN reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors accused Romero of paying Ross $5,000 to marry her June 12, 2005, and alleged Romero and Ross never lived together as a couple.

Romero said their marriage was real, but fell apart because of his drinking and her focus on her modeling and acting career.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real barred defense lawyers from using evidence they said would show Romero was framed and turned in by a photographer angered because she rejected his romantic overtures, CNN said.

Romero, 28, who starred in Telemundo's "Wounded Soul" serial, testified the first months of their marriage were "very loving, fun," but they separated because "he was coming on very late and drunk. ... It was not healthy."

Ross also testified Tuesday, CNN said.

"I was in love with her," Ross testified.

Celebrity photographer Markus Klinko testified he did not turn over information about Romero to federal agents for revenge. He said his investigator uncovered the information for use in a lawsuit against Michael Ball, the founder and owner of the Rock & Republic fashion company.

The criminal complaint alleged Ball helped arrange the Romero-Ross marriage while Romero was modeling for his company, CNN said. Klinko said his lawyer turned the evidence over to the government because he feared Ball may try to extort Klinko.