INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- An Independence wife got a big surprise when she saw her husband marrying someone else on television, she said.

The woman's mother notified her when she saw William Rivera on a local news report about the mass wedding in Independence on Valentine's Day last year.

Rivera showed up at a Jackson County Courthouse Tuesday. It took nearly a year for attorneys to gather the paperwork necessary to accuse the father of six of having two wives.

KCTV5 talked to Rivera's first wife Tuesday.

She did not want to be identified, but she talked about how she felt when she saw her husband marrying another woman.

"I feel like he has pushed us off in a corner, you know, like tried to hide us in the shadows and forget about us, but you can't, so I'm glad it's all coming to light," she said.

She and Rivera were married nearly 10 years ago in front of a justice of the peace in Independence, the same judge who performed the second marriage, she said. She said their relationship became rocky when he left for Iraq to report for National Guard duty in 2005. He was gone for nearly a year.

Rivera wouldn't comment as he left court Tuesday, but he did refer to his first wife as his "ex."

Rivera is expected back in court next month.

Rivera's first wife said she will not seek a divorce. "I know that Jesus performs miracles. His word says it," she said.