In a high-profile divorce case that sparked heated debates in China, a man divorced his wife of 16 years after learning that none of the three children she gave birth to during their marriage were his.
In December 2007, Chen Zhixian married Yu Hua, a girl eight years his junior, shortly after they first met. She appeared like a straightforward, down-to-earth woman, and his parents had been urging him to quiet down for a very long time, so he never really had time to get to know her. Shortly after tying the knot, Yu Hua informed Chen that she was pregnant, and he was so overwhelmed by the news that he was going to be a father that he didn’t realize that his wife should have already been pregnant once they met as a way to have a baby. baby when she did it. Yu gave birth to the couple’s first daughter, and her husband became a long-distance truck driver who was away from home most of the yr and returned home to Dexing in Jianxi Province only for brief periods.
Photo: Upstream News reporter Shen Du
Years passed and Yu Hua gave birth to a different daughter, whom Chen claimed as his, but in 2019 he began to suspect his wife’s infidelity when she informed him that she was pregnant again. This time, Chen knew that he was not home when the infant was conceived and confronted his wife concerning the situation. She insisted that it was his child, until the man finally accepted her version and welcomed his third daughter into the world.
It was in November 2022 that Chen Zhixian finally came upon that his wife had been unfaithful. He learned that she had had an affair with a man named Wu and that she had given birth to her fourth daughter in a hospital in Shangrao City. Instead of confronting Yu Hua, Chen found a lawyer and went to the hospital to research. He learned that she had indeed given birth to a woman that month, but that the discharge form listed his name as the daddy and a forged signature.
Convinced that his earlier suspicions about Yu Hua’s infidelity were correct, Chen filed for divorce and ordered a paternity test for every of his children. The result was shocking – none of the three daughters he raised as his own were conceived by him. The devastated man took his wife to court and demanded paternity for the children, but additionally compensation for emotional suffering.
The case made headlines in China for over a yr, with each side receiving fair support and criticism. Yu Hua managed to assemble some support after she accused Chen of domestic violence and told reporters that he had beaten her mother who tried to guard her. He admitted to arguing with his mother-in-law while talking to his wife about her infidelity, but claimed he was carried away by an uncharacteristic fit of rage.
On December 29, 2023, the family court issued its final judgment on this polarizing divorce case. Chen Zhixian was granted custody of his two eldest daughters, and his wife was ordered to resign her claims to material property and pay her ex-husband monthly alimony.
Chen Zhixian told Chinese media that the revelations of his ex-wife’s infidelity and his daughters’ paternity traumatized him and that he planned to maneuver on and begin a brand new life.
