diff --git a/gramps2/ChangeLog b/gramps2/ChangeLog
index cd0f56838..ae3d679f9 100644
--- a/gramps2/ChangeLog
+++ b/gramps2/ChangeLog
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 2005-05-06  Don Allingham  <dona@gramps-project.org>
+	* src/ReportUtils.py: check for spouse existance before creating a
+	marriage string - return an empty string instead.
 	* src/ReadXML.py: fix handling of non-gregorian dates
 	* src/EditPerson.py: faster building of place lists using cursors
 
diff --git a/gramps2/src/ReportUtils.py b/gramps2/src/ReportUtils.py
index 3bd218905..6f518a7a8 100644
--- a/gramps2/src/ReportUtils.py
+++ b/gramps2/src/ReportUtils.py
@@ -908,6 +908,11 @@ def married_str(database,person,spouse,event,endnotes=None,
 def married_rel_str(database,person,family,is_first=True):
     spouse_handle = find_spouse(person,family)
     spouse = database.get_person_from_handle(spouse_handle)
+
+    # not all families have a spouse.
+    if not spouse_handle or not spouse:
+        return u""
+
     spouse_name = _nd.display(spouse)
 
     if is_first: