ELIZABETH, N.J.—Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey didn’t plan to torment his wife while they were married, a judge in their divorce case ruled March 20, while allowing her to continue with a claim of marriage fraud.

The judge dismissed Dina Matos McGreevey’s claim of emotional distress against her estranged gay husband.

“Mr. McGreevey was not out to destroy her emotionally,” Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy said.

Cassidy said she would permit the fraud claim to continue.

Matos McGreevey claims she was duped into marrying a gay man who sought the cover of a wife to hide his homosexuality and further his political ambitions. He claims he provided companionship and a child, thus fulfilling his part of the marriage contract.

The pretrial hearing came less than a week after McGreevey, 50, said claims that he and his wife engaged in threesomes with a male aide were true; Matos McGreevey, 41, denied they happened.

Cassidy told the former first couple that their divorce trial, scheduled to start May 6, would get ugly.

“We all know what happened this week,” she said. “What evidence will likely be heard in this case, this week was just the tip of the iceberg.”