Another Good Day in Journalism

I get my fair share of press releases in a day. Some are relevant. Some are useful. And then there are some like the gem I received today. It involves a woman, a marriage for all the wrong reasons, a baby, and a legal suit. Jason, I definitely think this deserves coverage. I’ll totally write it. Actually, Merritt may be better with this kind of story.

Jump to read.

WOMAN ALLEGES SHE UNWITTINGLY SERVED AS
SURROGATE FOR GAY COUPLE

“Cheryl” could only imagine the pain and sense of loss her relative would face if his gay lover was deported back to his native Colombia. What she could not imagine was that upon her selfless decision to marry his partner so that they would not be separated, Cheryl claims she was seduced, manipulated, and impregnated by her ‘gay husband.’
It was, Cheryl alleges, an elaborate, deceptive plan for a gay couple to get a baby.  When the child was born, they immediately filed suit for custody.  Four years later, the battle still rages on.
In September 2003, claims Cheryl, she was made aware by her sister that her brother-in-law was deeply discouraged and saddened by the lack of options he faced when trying to find a solution for his lover to evade deportation. Cheryl knew how daunting the strain of long-distance relationships could be as she, a Cherry Hill, New Jersey resident, worked hard to maintain a solid relationship with her boyfriend in Portland, Oregon.
“I knew firsthand how incredibly hard it was to try to be with someone you loved who lived thousands of miles away,” said Cheryl.  “And what’s worse, they would not even be in the same country.”
According to Cheryl, it didn’t take long for her to offer to marry the potential deportee so he could remain in the country with his partner, and the couple accepted very quickly.  By the end of the month they married and her new husband moved into the guest room in her house, creating the façade of a happily married couple for the length of time it would take for him to acquire a visa.
Soon after their union, Cheryl’s gay husband began what she alleges was a “series of mind games” that opened with snide remarks about her real boyfriend.  “It seemed to go like clockwork,” Cheryl claims. “First, he begins to badmouth my boyfriend with no actual basis for what he is saying.  Next, he is giving me massages when I come home from work and taking it upon himself to wash my undergarments.”
According to Cheryl, it wasn’t long before she found herself the object of desire for her gay husband, engulfing her in a whirlwind of confusion. Upon confronting him, she claims he justified his actions with the notion that she was a woman, so it wouldn’t qualify as cheating on his behalf. After some time, Cheryl says she gave in to his advances.
“I knew he was gay but he kept telling me he really cared.  He even said that his boyfriend knew and he was OK with his feelings for me; he said it was different because I was woman. I guess it just became reality to me and before long, I started falling in love with him.”
Almost immediately following her husband’s move from the guest room to her own bedroom, Cheryl became pregnant, and says she was astonished to learn her sister’s brother-in-law was supportive. As Cheryl remembers it, as quickly as she was with child, her husband began the process of distancing himself from her, spending less time with her and more extended long weekends with his gay lover. Midway through the pregnancy, Cheryl claims the situation took a turn for the worse as the gay couple seemed to position themselves against Cheryl. In spite of the emotional turmoil she found herself in, she tried to maintain the best interest of her baby.
“By this time, I realized the extent that I was being taken advantage of. But I still had to think of my child, and I wanted my child to have his or her father in their life,” said Cheryl.
Despite her efforts to smooth things over with the father of her child, Cheryl filed for divorce and found the nightmare that had been her life for the past year had only begun. Her soon to be ex-husband and his lover sued for sole custody of the child, and the legal battle is ongoing.
“It wasn’t enough that I had been duped and betrayed after trying to do a good deed,” adds Cheryl. “Now I must go to bed every night sick with worry over the fact that the one great thing that resulted from this mess – my child – may be taken away from me.”
About Cheryl:
Cheryl is a registered nurse who deals specifically with post-cardiac surgical patients.  She attended Linfield College Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Portland Oregon.

Cheryl has 3 children.  Her oldest are from her first marriage and her youngest from her second. In her spare time, Cheryl enjoys spending time with her children and her many pets.  She enjoys reading and researching new cardiac results/techniques.