Ivana Moral Spanish woman ex husband forced to pay $327K for 25 years of unpaid housework following divorce after left penniless despite prenup agreement.
Has a Spanish court imposed a raw deal on a divorced man or simply allowed one woman to get paid for all of her years of labor and dedication to her former husband and family? Or is there more to this story?
A Spanish man has been ordered to pay his ex-wife $327,000 for 25 years of unpaid domestic labor.
The record divorce settlement was calculated by Judge Laura Ruiz Alaminos, based on the annual minimum wage throughout the couple’s marriage, inews reported.
The man must also pay his ex-wife, Ivana Moral, 48, a monthly pension of $527, as well as $422 and $633 to his 20-year-old and 14-year-old daughters respectively.
Moral said she and her daughters were ‘left with nothing’ when the couple, who married in 1995, divorced in 2020.
Ex wife admits signing prenuptial agreement only allowing them to share common possessions in event of divorce
‘Clearly this was a case of abuse to be completely excluded financially [by her ex-husband] with nothing left after my marriage ended,’ Moral told inews.
‘So me and my daughters were left with nothing after all these years of putting all my time, energy, and love in the family.
‘I was supporting my husband in his work and in the family as a mother and a father. I was never allowed access to his financial affairs; everything was in his name.’
Moral was asked to sign a separation of goods agreement when she got married – meaning whatever each party earned was theirs alone, with them only sharing possessions.
The arrangement would have left Ms Moral with no access to any of the wealth acquired through years of partnership.
The court, in southern Spain’s Velez-Malaga, heard that during the marriage, Moral’s ex-husband, who was not named in the suit, built a successful gym business that allowed him to buy multiple luxury vehicles and an olive oil farm, valued at $6.4 million.
Moral said she has spoken out about her case as she wants women to know what they are entitled to. The woman who since her divorce has not re-married said she hoped her case would inspire other women ‘to know that we can claim for housework when there is a separation of goods agreement.’
‘She was his shadow’
Speaking to Cadena Ser radio, Ivana said her husband did not ‘want her to work’ outside the home.
He would only let her work at the gyms he owned, where she handled ‘public relations and acted as a monitor’.
Otherwise, she said, ‘I have dedicated myself exclusively to housework, looking after my husband and the house,’ she said.
‘He made me take on the specific role’ of doing domestic chores, to the extent that ‘I was in a place where I couldn’t really do much else,’ she said.
Moral’s lawyer, Marta Fuentes, told inews the ‘ruling represents the labor of all the women in the shadows … who, without a doubt, constitute a fundamental support in personal, marital and familiar terms during years and years so that the ex-husband could develop his professional career and a rise in wealth which at the moment of separation could not share.’
‘So he could get on in his career, she stayed at home to look after the children, and they never contacted anyone to help her,’ Fuentes added.
Social media responds
‘She was his shadow, working behind [him] so he could rise professionally and become someone.’
The husband according to Spanish media is now expected to file an appeal.
And then there were these comments on social media that caught this author’s attention. See what you think?
‘Now, she should pay him for 25 years of rent, for food, utilities, and other services the ex-husband performed in his marital duties.’
‘Never marry, let women be strong and independent to work and pay for themselves, their housing, their bills, their pension. Women love it.’
‘Another feminist living off of a man.’
‘Even in ancient times people knew it was wrong for a man to divorce his wife and leave her with nothing.’
‘She did that because she was taking care of her family VOLUNTEERILY it’s called being a mother and she shouldn’t be paid for it.’
‘Seems to me like he was her slave and she was exploiting him! She had a cushy life at home while he went to work.’
