7 On Your Side: Wedded couple receive missing marriage license

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey couple tied the knot nearly two years ago, but could "knot" tie down their paperwork.

Their marriage license was lost in a maze of red tape until they called 7 On Your Side to make their love official.

Anne Cioffi and Anthony Lobosco had been together for six years when they found out they'd be blessed with a bouncing baby boy. They decided it was time to get married.

"He was a surprise. I was actually told that, I would have trouble conceiving ... and then we actually, did get pregnant unexpectedly and were really excited," Anne said of their son, Lucas, who was born last July.

A quick courthouse wedding in Newark did the trick. The happy couple were married on May 17, 2024, but their marriage license had both the wrong date and the wrong gender for Anthony.

They had to resubmit the application, but their marriage certificate has been missing in action since the day they said "I do."

"I actually called ... they said there's no record of you or your husband's name. We have nothing here," Anne recalled.

She went in person to the office, remailed the necessary paperwork, still, nothing.

Not being an officially married hurt them financially as well -- they couldn't file joint taxes, for starters.

"I wasn't able to get onto her insurance, I'm paying more for my insurance. And then any time I have to go to the doctor or anything, I'm paying more," Anthony said.

"The biggest problem is just not, you know, being in limbo. Are we married or are we not? Was there a mistake? Do we have to get married again?" The new mom reached out to her local community for tips -- a Facebook group for mothers in her area.

"I actually put a post on, Bergen County Moms, the mom group, a lot of them suggested you," Anne explained.

When 7 On Your Side contacted the City of Newark, they owned it, stating it was an "unfortunate combination of miscommunication and action and inaction by municipal, county and state agencies, with each entity having little or no awareness of a lingering problem within or outside their jurisdiction."

They immediately sent the couple their marriage license.

After nearly two years, their family is now official -- not just in their hearts, but on paper too.