Chinese Mistress Sues Lover's Wife For Refusing To Divorce Man

A mistress has sued her lover's wife for refusing to leave her husband despite accepting 1.2 million yuan (Rs 1.3 crore approximately) as a “divorce fee” in China's Fujian province. The mistress, Shi, had an affair with a married man, Han, and the couple had a child together, the SCMP reported.

Han, who had been married to Yang since 2013, shared two daughters with his wife and fathered a son with Shi in November 2022. Hoping to replace Yang as Han's legal spouse, Shi proposed to her a deal: a payment of 2 million yuan in exchange for a divorce. Towards the end of 2022, Shi transferred 1.2 million yuan to Yang as an initial instalment.

But Yang neither divorced Han nor returned the money, leaving Shi frustrated. After more than a year of waiting, Shi filed a lawsuit to recover the payment, claiming there was a verbal agreement that Yang would consent to the divorce upon receiving the money.

The Shishi People's Court dismissed Shi's lawsuit, ruling her payment violated societal moral standards and public order because it was intended to disrupt a lawful marriage. The court said such verbal agreements lack legal validity and cannot be enforced.

Court proceedings also revealed that Han had secretly spent over 6 million yuan on Shi during their affair, without his wife's knowledge. Legal experts pointed out that under Chinese law, significant expenditures made by a married person during an extramarital affair are considered jointly owned by the married couple. This means Yang could potentially claim a share of the money spent on Shi.

The court said Han and Yang had already signed a divorce agreement and were in the government-mandated “cooling-off” period, introduced in 2021. This rule requires couples to wait 30 days after filing for divorce before the separation is finalised. As the divorce was not yet complete, Shi's claim for a refund was considered legally invalid.

Han could potentially face charges of bigamy under Chinese law for fathering a child with Shi while still legally married.