The following is a true story. However, names, dates and places have been changed for privacy.

A few years ago, Maria came to the United States from Cambodia in search for a better life. As soon as she became legally able to work in America, she got a job as a live-in housekeeper/cook for a single gentleman named Mr. Smith.

After her first six months of working, Mr. Smith had a “proposal” for Maria; he told Maria that he would give her a raise of $100 per week if she agreed to marry him! Maria was overcome with joy – not because of the proposed raise, but because she had truly fallen in love with Mr. Smith. She accepted his offer.

A few days later, he handed her a pre-nuptial agreement and told her to sign it. He told her that it was just a formality and that there was no need for her to read it. Maria was not yet fluent in English, nor had she ever heard of a “pre-nuptial agreement.” She trusted him with all her heart and without delay, signed the agreement.

They soon got married and it was then that Maria realized what she had agreed to. The pre-nuptial agreement that she signed said that she must “continue to work as Mr. Smith’s housekeeper/cook and sleep with him as needed.” Maria continued working for her husband for five more years. Because she did not yet fully understand the concept of American marriage, she stood back and sadly watched as her husband dated other women. Finally after five years, she told her husband that she was unhappy with him dating other women. He refused to stop and they are now in the process of getting a divorce. Maria is still living with him until she finds another job.

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