A Florida man who was illegally married to three unsuspecting women was sentenced on Thursday.
Henry Betsey Jr., who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of bigamy in May, will not be going to prison, according to WFTS-TV in Tampa Bay, Florida.
“I’m gonna sentence him to 2 years’ probation with 8 days credit for time served,” Judge Charles B. Merritt said during the sentencing. “You’re gonna have to do a mental health evaluation — complete a certified battery intervention program.”
Betsey was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service, is prohibited from contacting his now-former wives (though he’s still married to one), and isn’t allowed to use dating and social media apps, according to the New York Post.
“I am unfortunately still the wife of the defendant,” Michele Betsey said during Thursday’s hearing. “I am not here today just as a woman betrayed by someone I once trusted, but I am also speaking on behalf of the other women involved.”
Betsey met all three of his wives on dating apps before marrying each woman in different Florida counties.
He married his first wife, Tonya, at Jacksonville courthouse in November 2020. They had met on Tinder.
“He sold the perfect person, when in reality, he was none of those things,” Tonya said.
Then he met Brandy on Stir, marrying her in Manatee County in February 2022.
Do you agree with this punishment?
“He said all the right things,” Brandy said.
He married his current wife, Michele, just three weeks after meeting on Match.com. They married in November 2022.
Florida man won’t face any prison time and was sentenced to two years’ probation for a felony bigamy charge after marrying three women in different counties simultaneously. He even set up joint bank accounts and was exploring alimony payments. pic.twitter.com/JFzlbGENuT
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) August 6, 2025
At some point his first wife, Tonya, did some digging on Betsey before making the shocking discovery.
“I just started county by county, putting in his name. And that’s when I came up with the marriage to Michele and the marriage to Brandy,” Tonya said.
Tonya messaged Michele online about her discovery.
“She found me and she messaged me, and I had no idea that she was actually still married to him,” Michele said.
Michele contacted police in 2024, and Betsey was arrested at his home in Seminole County.
The wives said Betsey likely married them for money.
He was also allegedly abusive.
Just five days after being married to his second wife, Brandy, she reportedly kicked him out of the house.
Tonya and Michele also acquired domestic violence orders against him.
The women placed some of the blame on Florida for not cross-referencing marriage licenses between counties.
“If the counties did talk, it would have saved me a lot of heartache, a lot of money, a lot of stress,” Tonya said.
Betsey apologized in court.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to the ladies and I want to apologize to the court administration and to my family and friends that had to be involved in this. Because ultimately this is something that I didn’t wish to be part of,” Betsey said.
But his current wife wasn’t having it.
“I’m sure that it was only said because it was recommended by his attorney to say. Do I think he has any remorse? Absolutely not,” Michele told WFTS-TV.
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