Anna Nicole Weds for "Shot of Emotional Adrenaline"

ByABC News
September 29, 2006, 2:31 PM

Sept. 29, 2006— -- Reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith exchanged vows with boyfriend Howard K. Stern on a boat near Nassau but there was no formal marriage and the ceremony is "not legally binding" stated a second attorney for Smith, Michael Scott to ABC News.

"The goal was to exchange vows to reaffirm a commitment they have made to each other. It was also to give them a shot of emotional adrenaline," stated Scott.

In answer to questions as to why the couple did not wait for a full marriage, Scott replied: "I don't think that they had time to wait for a marriage license."

"They have been through a trying time, and they have one more very difficult to go through," continued Scott, in reference to the approaching funeral for Smith's son.

The exchange of vows happened aboard a boat, just 18 days following the death of Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel Smith whe he visited her in the Bahama hospital where she had given birth a daughter, Scott told the Associated Press.

The couple "exchanged vows before God" but did not obtain a marriage license, Scott told The Associated Press. Stern claims paternity to Smith's new baby, named Dani Lynn Hope in honor of her deceased half-brother.