The 36-year-old accountant, identified as P.A., said after the Salerno civil court ratified a church annulment that he separated from his ex-wife after only four months of marriage because of his mother-in-law, ANSA reported Wednesday.

He said a prenuptial agreement signed before his wedding stated that his wife's mother was not allowed to interfere in their lives.

"The marriage lasted just four months but it was hell," P.A. said. "I thought all the stories about terrible mothers-in-law were made up but I was forced to think again. There's no point describing everything I suffered, you have to go through it yourself."

However, his ex-wife, identified as G.M.C., said her mother "didn't do anything that any other responsible parent wouldn't have done."

"My husband never took care of me or our daughter. The months of marriage were terrible because of the unacceptable behavior of a man who was supposed to love and respect me," she said. "My mother wasn't interfering, she was worried about her daughter's physical and psychological state."