Adultery has been around since shortly after Adam hooked up with Eve, but its legal importance has vastly diminished since Governor Ronald Reagan brought no-fault divorce to America (actually, California in 1970). For all intents and purposes adultery is not a factor in most divorces, much to the chagrin of about half of the people seeking a divorce.
Last week word emerged from Durham County, North Carolina that a Tik-tok influencer had been ordered to pay $1,750,000 to the wife of a married man for the malicious act of trying to steal that man from his marriage. Yep, can’t make this up. So what gives?
Actually, the prescient question is “where does it give?” and the answer, courtesy of Bride’s Magazine no less, is North Carolina, Arizona, Mississippi, Hawaii, South Dakota, Mexico and Utah. These seven states have retained “Heart Balm Laws” which were once widely accepted, even in Pennsylvania. Yes, You Can Sue Someone for Breaking Up a Marriage.
Now for a small dose of some curious legal history. For centuries, almost all domestic law was premised around the concept that women were stupid and needed to be protected by men. Until the mid-19th century a married woman gave up management of her own property to be managed by her husband for so long as they were married. Thus, Martha Washington’s property (she was immensely wealthy) came under the control of George once they married. But, while the central narrative was that women were dumb, the law acknowledged that they were wily when it came to forming relationships with married men.
How could these wily women be induced to desist from seducing married men? By enacting laws that allowed a jilted spouse to sue the evil woman who “alienated the affection” of the otherwise loving and monogamous husband. In a word, make ‘em pay, which is a much cheaper remedy than jailing people for adultery. Another iteration of this deplorable conduct involved seducing a woman by promising to marry her and then not following through on the promise. As if Bride’s Magazine doesn’t lend enough purity to this subject, the Smithsonian Magazine covered the latter topic in 2018. How the “Heart Balm Racket” Convinced America That Women Were Up to No Good
These laws had a lot of currency from just after the Civil War until the advent of the First World War. Divorce became a regular part of the legal terrain in the 1920s and as the Smithsonian noted, blackmail was often a component of the threat of legal action. Thus, states began to abolish these laws. Pennsylvania took that step in 1935. But, as last week’s case brings to light, in some states, the candle of jilted affection stills burns bright and for a verdict of almost $2 million, someone succeeded in getting a jury worked up. Whether a Tik-tokker has that kind of coin to shell out may be quite a different matter, but she does have 3,000,000 followers.
Akira Montague v. Brenay Kenard. Durham County, NC.
Last week word emerged from Durham County, North Carolina that a Tik-tok influencer had been ordered to pay $1,750,000 to the wife of a married man for the malicious act of trying to steal that man from his marriage. Yep, can’t make this up. So what gives?
Actually, the prescient question is “where does it give?” and the answer, curtesy of Bride’s Magazine no less, is North Carolina, Arizona, Mississippi, Hawaii, South Dakota, Mexico and Utah. These seven states have retained “Heart Balm Laws” which were once widely accepted, even in Pennsylvania. Yes, You Can Sue Someone for Breaking Up a Marriage.
Now for a small dose of some curious legal history. For centuries, almost all domestic law was premised around the concept that women were stupid and needed to be protected by men. Until the mid-19th century a married woman gave up management of her own property to be managed by her husband for so long as they were married. Thus, Martha Washington’s property (she was immensely wealthy) came under the control of George once they married. But, while the central narrative was that women were dumb, the law acknowledged that they were wily when it came to forming relationships with married men.
How could these wily women be induced to desist from seducing married men? By enacting laws that allowed a jilted spouse to sue the evil woman who “alienated the affection” of the otherwise loving and monogamous husband. In a word, make ‘em pay, which is a much cheaper remedy than jailing people for adultery. Another iteration of this deplorable conduct involved seducing a woman by promising to marry her and then not following through on the promise. As if Bride’s Magazine doesn’t lend enough purity to this subject, the Smithsonian Magazine covered the latter topic in 2018. How the “Heart Balm Racket” Convinced America That Women Were Up to No Good
These laws had a lot of currency from just after the Civil War until the advent of the First World War. Divorce became a regular part of the legal terrain in the 1920s and as the Smithsonian noted, blackmail was often a component of the threat of legal action. Thus, states began to abolish these laws. Pennsylvania took that step in 1935. But, as last week’s case brings to light, in some states, the candle of jilted affection stills burns bright and for a verdict of almost $2 million, someone succeeded in getting a jury worked up. Whether a Tik-tokker has that kind of coin to shell out may be quite a different matter, but she does have 3,000,000 followers.
Akira Montague v. Brenay Kenard. Durham County, NC.