A paramour is a person who is a love or romantic interest of a married person who is engaging in adultery with the paramour. Spouses engaged in adulterous affairs with paramours sometimes give gifts to their paramours, and often spend marital or community property on such gifts. The non-cheating spouse may pursue a reimbursement claim and ask the court to order the spouse who spent marital assets on a paramour to reimburse the marital or community estate—by returning the gift if it retains its value (jewelry) or replacing the funds with the cheating spouse’s separate property funds.

In North Carolina, adultery can have legal implications, particularly in the context of divorce and the division of marital property. If a spouse engages in an affair and uses marital assets to buy gifts for a paramour, the non-cheating spouse may have the right to seek reimbursement. North Carolina General Statutes do not specifically address the issue of reimbursement for funds spent on a paramour, but case law allows for claims of marital waste or dissipation of assets. In such cases, the court may consider the spending on the affair when making decisions about the division of marital property. The non-cheating spouse would need to demonstrate that the cheating spouse spent marital funds on the affair, and the court could order the cheating spouse to reimburse the marital estate. This could involve returning the gift if it retains value, such as jewelry, or compensating the marital estate with separate property funds. It's important to note that North Carolina is an equitable distribution state, meaning that marital property is divided in a manner that is equitable, but not necessarily equal. The conduct of the spouses can be a factor in determining what is equitable.