All eight children come from a surrogate mother in US. Future of five sons, three daughters hangs in balance with legal ruling pending. — SCMP
The story of a 33-year-old woman in China who sued her 61-year-old ex-lover, with whom she has eight children, for maintenance of 200mil yuan (RM131.35mil or US$28mil) after finding out he was married has trended on mainland social media.
Before learning that her lover of 10 years had a wife, the unnamed woman, from Sichuan province in southwestern China, had built a family with him, raising five sons and three daughters, Star Video reported.
The woman, who comes from a wealthy family, met him online when she was 23, and although he lied to her about how he earned a living, decided to start a romantic relationship with him.
“He said he was single, so our relationship is legal,” the woman told Star Video.
In the video, she shows a certificate, the validity of which is unclear, saying that they got married in 2015, after which they decided they were going to have 10 children.
“He told me that at least one of the children would be successful,” the woman said.
She then showed birth certificates which revealed the children were born in the United States to a surrogate mother.
The woman estimated that they spent more than 10mil yuan (RM6.56mil or US$1.4mil) to have five sons and three daughters.
However, her dream life was shattered last year when she discovered that the man she assumed was her “husband”, who had moved overseas, was suing her to get back all the assets he claimed he gave her.
Things got even worse when she learned that he has another wife.
The woman left him and he has to look after the eight children for the time being.
She is suing her ex-lover and his family to obtain child support of about 200,000 yuan (RM131,356 or US$28,000) per month because she cannot afford to take care of the children.
His family replied that they could raise the children if she was willing to hand all of them over, otherwise they would seek a legal remedy.
“I can’t give my children to him,” the woman said.
She then accused him of bigamy and demanded 200mil yuan (RM131.35mil) in maintenance. The case came to trial in October last year and a decision is pending.
The story shocked mainland social media.
One online observer said: “Oh my god, this is ridiculous” while another person said: “A poor woman and her eight children.”
Stories involving huge divorce settlements regularly start heated debates in China.
In June last year, a woman in southwestern China who showed up at her ex-husband’s wedding with a banner which read: “Accepting concubines on my husband’s behalf” over an unpaid divorce settlement of 1mil yuan (RM656,780).
In March last year, a housewife in Beijing who discovered her husband – who claimed to have savings of just 100,000 yuan (RM65,678) – but actually earned as much as 3mil yuan (RM1.97mil or US$422,000) a year – launched a divorce lawsuit to get her husband to hand over 60% of his assets. – South China Morning Post
