Well, not actually my friend. My wife’s friend/co-worker.
Here’s the story, or at least what I know of it.
This gentleman(whom we’ll call Pete), started dating a woman around December of last year. The relationship seemed to be going well, if a bit oddly in some regards.
The woman(whom we’ll call Susan) seemed to be a good match. They had some interests in common (biking, music, etc) and got along quite well. In February (I think) he proposed.
They were supposed to be wed in the middle of June. About 2 weeks before the wedding, she wanted to attend some “couples counseling” out of the blue. He agreed, though he wasn’t sure why she thought it was necessary. Susan seemed to discuss some concerns that things were going quickly. She still wanted to get married, but was worried that things were moving along more rapidly than was healthy.
Pete said that he just wanted her to be happy, and would do whatever she wanted. He specifically asked if she wanted to postpone the wedding, to which she said “not right now”.
A week before the wedding, she arranged a meeting with the two of them and her lawyer, and instructed Pete to bring his tax statements from the last several years, as well as any other legal documents (house deeds, etc).
Upon arrival, he was shocked to learn that she essentially wanted to know how much he was worth, how much money he had in savings, and all the details of his monetary worth. This was fairly meager, as he had spent his savings wooing her (including a trip to Chicago, and an $8000 wedding ring set).
At this time he also learned that she had close to half a million dollars in savings, mostly from 2 previous marriages wherein she had sued for money in addition to divorce (the last marriage had lasted last than 6 months, but was still worth over $100 G’s).
2 days before the wedding, she cancelled the wedding. A week later she went to his apartment and accused him of cheating, of lying, of being gay, and generally of being a bad person.
For the record, he’s not gay, and has not been (as far as my wife knows) cheating. He also didn’t have a profile on Infidelity.com, which was understandable, since it’s not a pickup or dating site. Really, a lot of this stuff came out of left field.
A few days after this, Pete received and e-mail from Susan, with an itemized list of expenses (dress, makeup, tanning, etc. etc. etc.) totally up to about $12000 that she demanded he pay her. She carbon copied this to her lawyer (who happens to be her good friend who also handled her last 2 divorces). She stated that she’s being nice enough to not go for “emotional pain and distress”.
He had stated all along that he was willing to pay for the honeymoon expenses (we are sure, though have no proof, that after the wedding date she went on the honeymoon trip, as she disappeared for a week).
He has asked for the ring back. She is refusing, saying she will be keeping it as it was a gift.
Pete has stated he will be contacting a lawyer, as she appears to be coming after him with everything she’s got.
What I’m hoping I can supply him with is a list of legal cites that might help him out in his pre-lawyer discussions with her.
This is in Pennsylvania.
Suggestions, advice?
For what it’s worth, our current theory (my wife and I’s) is that this whole thing was a very elaborate scam to get at his non-existant fortune. It’s also possible that the woman is batshit crazy.
Poor guy doesn’t even drink, so he can’t go out for a night of “forget the woman” drinking. Ah well.