Man Divorces Wife After She Donates $94,000 to a Male Streamer
After eight years of careful saving, Mr. Liu thought he understood the shape of his marriage. He worked away from home, lived modestly, and sent almost every yuan he earned back to his family in Henan, believing they were building a future together. That picture unraveled when he discovered that most of their savings had quietly been transferred elsewhere.
His wife had transferred about $94,000 from their shared savings to a male livestreamer she followed online. She made the donations without his knowledge, draining funds he thought were set aside for their household. The discovery shattered his trust and left little space for reconciliation. Mr. Liu filed for divorce soon after and began trying to recover what remained of their shared assets.
Years of Saving, One Devastating Realization
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Life for this family was modest by every measure. Liu worked in Zhengzhou while his wife stayed home to care for their child, and the three lived in a rental that cost about 300 yuan each month (roughly $42). Over nearly a decade, he managed to save 1.16 million yuan ($163,000) and entrusted all of it to his wife.
When he recently asked to review their accounts for household needs, she refused, raising his suspicions and eventually leading to a confession. She admitted the money was gone.
Of the savings Liu had accumulated, she had sent 670,000 yuan (close to $94,000) to a male streamer she watched obsessively. She was unable to explain where the remaining funds had gone, and when the savings ran out, she took out loans totaling 80,000 yuan, which left the household in debt.
Chat logs later revealed that she used affectionate nicknames for the streamer, though she insisted the two never met offline. Liu described the discovery as a profound betrayal that left the marriage beyond repair.
A Parasocial Attachment with Real-World Consequences
Local reporting indicates that Liu’s wife spent much of her time on livestreaming platforms and developed a parasocial attachment that escalated into repeated tipping. All of the donations came from the family savings Liu believed were intact. The debt, the loss of the savings, and the breach of trust led him to pursue divorce and seek half of the couple’s shared property.
In recent years, several high-profile incidents involving large viewer donations have drawn public attention within China. Discussions about better safeguards on livestreaming platforms have followed, especially in cases where one household member spends significant amounts without the other’s knowledge.
Moving Forward After the Betrayal
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Liu has expressed that his priority now is stabilizing his finances and securing what remains of the couple’s shared assets. As he told Henan TV, he lived with bare necessities for years while trusting his wife completely, only to discover that the savings he worked so hard to build had been depleted.
His next steps are to formalize the separation and seek the portion of property he is entitled to under the law. Whatever the financial outcome, the emotional toll of the revelation is something no legal process can resolve.