Years ago a couple would become legally married simply by living together as husband and wife and telling others that they were married. This was called a "common law" marriage, and at times couples would end up being considered married when that really wasn't what they intended.
But under Tennessee law no one can become married in this state that way. The formal requirements of marriage must be met before a marriage in Tennessee will be legal.
Tennessee does recognize a common law marriage which legally took place in another state. So if a couple lived together long enough as husband and wife in another state which did recognize common law marriage (Alabama might be such a state) and then they moved here to Tennessee, they would be legally married in Tennessee, so long as they had become married under the common law of another state. But if a marriage was not valid in the original state and the couple then moves to Tennessee, moving to Tennessee does not make it become valid.
At the same time it is important to be aware that if a couple has been living together for some time, and the couple THINKS they are married, then Tennessee courts may apply a doctrine called Estoppel, to prevent one of them from denying a marriage existed.
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