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 Ohio, adultery can be considered when dividing marital property in a divorce. Ohio is an equitable distribution state, which means that marital property is not necessarily divided equally but rather in a manner that is equitable and fair. If a spouse has spent marital assets on a paramour, the court may take this into consideration when dividing assets. The non-cheating spouse may raise the issue of dissipation of marital assets, which refers to the wasting or spending of marital funds on a purpose unrelated to the marriage, such as gifts to a paramour, in a way that disadvantages the marital estate. The court can order the cheating spouse to reimburse the marital estate for the value of the dissipated assets. This reimbursement could be in the form of returning the gift if it retains its value, such as jewelry, or by compensating the marital estate with separate property funds of the cheating spouse. It's important to note that the specifics of each case can vary, and the outcome can depend on the evidence presented and the discretion of the court.