Dustin Diamond was never married to Jennifer Misner -- despite publicly claiming they were husband and wife -- and their secret's only being revealed because of Dustin's death.
TMZ obtained the late 'Saved By The Bell' star's death certificate, and under marital status it says "never-married." Of course, fans thought Dustin and Jennifer tied the knot back in the early 2000s ... and he'd even worn a wedding band.
The real deal, according to Dustin's close friend, Dan Block is ... DD never legally married Jennifer. Dan tells TMZ, Jennifer was his girlfriend and he wore the ring as a way of showing his dedication to her when he traveled for work.
Dustin went on Howard Stern's show way back in 2006 trying to raise money to get his house out of his foreclosure after losing a child with Jennifer. At the time, he talked about marrying her -- but we're told he did that to get more sympathy while dealing with his dire financial crisis.
Dan says, in recent years, Dustin had wanted to clear up his marital status, and was particularly frustrated with his Wikipedia page -- which says he and Jennifer married in 2009 and separated in 2013.
TMZ broke the story ... Dustin died last month after a battle with Stage 4 lung cancer. His most recent girlfriend, Tash, was by his side when he passed away, and she now has some of his ashes.