Articles
China Elevator Stories
A girlfriend, a fight and an accidental pregnancy
My husband’s friend is planning to marry his pregnant girlfriend.
27/11/2014
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
Remember my husband’s friend who works as a trainer at a gym in Shenzhen? I’ll call him S. A few months ago, S had thought about splitting up with his girlfriend.
On a day in June 2014, S tells my husband that his girlfriend is pregnant. It was an accidental pregnancy, but S is willing to take on the responsibility and marry his girlfriend. S asks us where we had our pre-wedding pictures taken and how much we paid.
When we see some pictures of S and his girlfriend on WeChat, we’re surprised. The woman in the picture is not the one he introduced to us as his girlfriend a few months prior.
A few weeks ago, S was still together with the girlfriend we got to know. After a fight one day, S had been so mad at his girlfriend that he met up with another woman. They spent one night together, and then a few more. Within two weeks, the woman is pregnant. Which is the story of how the two of them decided to get married.
I’m not sure what happened to girlfriend #1. I suppose they split up.
Have you ever heard a similar story?
Explanation: In China, children born out-of-wedlock can not be legally registered within the Chinese household registration system (hukou), making it impossible for them to attend public kindergarten and school or get social insurance. This is one of the reasons many couples decide to get married if the woman is pregnant.