SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: Anna Nicole Smith Was Secretly Married All This Time

Ever since Anna Nicole Smith passed away and, to some extent, even before that, the question of who was the real father of her infant daughter or of whether her and Howard K. Stern's Bahamas ceremony was legally binding had to do with one thing, and one thing only: the inheritance of her estate. You see, in the end, it all boiled down to that: whoever got the child, Dannielynn Hope, or whoever of the many lovers that came forward could prove they were legally bound to the late model, would be a rich man. For those who are not into this entire ANS drama, you should know that she was set to inherit a large part of her late husband's fortune, roughly estimated at $1.6 billion. From where I come, that's a lot of money so, this explains the bitter fight between Anna's former lovers, Howard K. Stern, Larry Birkhead (who, in the end, turned out to be the natural father of Dannielynn) and Mark Hatten, who is currently serving the last days of his six-year sentence in a state prison.

This is not the first time that we're doing a story on the last of the already mentioned 'players' in the ANS game: he is the same man who not only accused Howard Stern of trying to kill him on several occasions by serving him drug cocktails that sent him in a comatose state almost instantly, but one of the many who also thought they might have been Danni's real father. Turns out, Mr. Hatten was not the real father of the baby girl born on Bahamian soil only three days after her elder brother died of an overdose in the same room she was sleeping next to her mother. Then, you might wonder, why won't he just let go? Is there another reason for which he continues to file both civil and penal suits against anybody and everybody? What if, just for the sake of argument, he were in fact Anna Nicole Smith's lawful wedded husband? That would change everything, would it not?

This morning, we got a very large envelope in our mailbox: it contained several court documents, among which the case filed against Howard K. Stern et al (in the civil court) for wrongful imprisonment and character assassination (asking for $100 million worth of damages) and the two probate suits filed against Anna Nicole Smith's estate, claiming Mark Hatten is the only heir to the $1.6 billion estate she would have received as widow of oil-tycoon Marshall. How come? Well, according to the sworn affidavit (also included in the envelope), Anna Nicole Smith was married to Mark Hatten and there is physical proof (photos, documents and video tapes) to corroborate it. Useless to say, if that really be the case, this is about to change everything!

Says Mark in the affidavit:

'5. I declare [sic] during our relationship there were not one, but 20 different and separate marriages between Mark R. Hatten and Anna Nicole Smith.

6. Oral promises, agreements and sacread [sic] wedding vows... wedding ceremonies complete with wedding rings (with hands on the Holy Bible) in full wedding garbo [sic], and honeymoons for Mark & Anna* (WEDDING VIDEO)

7. Hatten and Smith [...] accepted each other as husband and wife in the eyes of the almighty God, with ordined [sic] minister present to declare, and name them husband and wife* (MATERIAL WITNESS) see (WEDDING VIDEO)'.

And there's even more to this story than what you just read: according to the same sworn statement, the late glamour model promised Mark, her husband, that she would take care of him for the rest of his life as long as he kept quiet about the secret marriage and made him promise that, when she was gone, he would take care of her son, Daniel. Mr. Hatten also claims that Anna Nicole Smith told him on several occasions that she planned to die as her idol, Marilyn Monroe, of an overdose – a plan that, Hatten seems to think, she carried forth: 'Anna Nicole told me that she would die young like Marilyn Monroe and chose me to watch over our son Daniel Wayne (my son by means of marriage). Anna supplied petitioned with "proof of our marriages" - for future use', Mr. Hatten explains in the court documents filed just a couple of days ago.

By all accounts, Anna Nicole Smith lived a life worthy of any soap-opera and probably she would have been very happy or thrilled about the drama her passing away generated and which can still be felt today, almost a year later. And to think that the plot has only begun to thicken as we speak... Mark Hatten will parole on December 25, 2007 and, as the saying goes, he's ready for his close-up! For those who did not follow the ANS/Hatten drama, just follow the links below.

MORE RELATED ARTICLES: BREAKING: Jailed Man Files Paternity Petition for Anna Nicole Smith's Baby SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: Anna Nicole's Ex Files for $100 Million! SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: The Truth Will Prevail SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: Gay Sex, Death and ANS – The Final Chapter SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: 5 Bucks for Blow, 20 for Lay, a Child for 1 Billion SOFTPEDIA EXCLUSIVE: Meet The Potential Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Child