Getting Married is Not a Crime: Imran Khan on Storm Over Secret Wedding, Finds Support From Ex-Wife

Reports of former Pakistan Test captain Imran Khan's marriage were not 'greatly exaggerated' after all, it seems now. Imran, 62, has admitted to marrying Reham Khan, a former BBC presenter, after days of strenuously denying it and his former wife Jemima Goldsmith, for one, has publicly wished the newlyweds well.

British socialite Jemima tweeted last night:

Thank you so much to all those Pakistanis who have sent me such lovely messages over the last few days. I am really touched...(cont)

- Jemima Khan (@Jemima_Khan) January 6, 2015

(cont) ...And I hope Imran will be happy in this new phase of his life.

- Jemima Khan (@Jemima_Khan) January 6, 2015

Jemima, who dropped the 'Khan' from her last name in October 2014 because her former husband was about to remarry, has two sons with the Pakistani cricketer-politician. They divorced in 2004.

Not everyone has welcomed Imran's secret wedding as warmly as his ex-wife. His sister Aleema is not amused. She told British publication The Daily Mail that she doesn't want to meet the new Mrs Khan and that the family challenged Imran 'a few days ago' over the news and he denied it.

For his part, Imran has come clean about his new wife. "I am going to Pakistan to share the good news of my marriage with the nation. I have nothing to hide," Imran said, adding: "getting married isn't a crime."

Speaking from his home in Islamabad on Tuesday, Imran defended his actions and his new bride, declaring: "A person can marry whenever he/she wants." He pointed to the fact that he had in no way deceived his new wife and insisted that he put his two teenage children first when coming to a decision.

Imran has acknowledged the marriage after days of denying it. On New Year's Eve, he tweeted:

The reports of my marriage are greatly exaggerated!

- Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 31, 2014

The 62-year-old is the head of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Party. Reham Khan, 41, is a divorcee and mother-of-three. She lived in Britain for part of her previous marriage, when she was a presenter on the BBC regional news programme, 'South Today'.