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 South Carolina, adultery is considered grounds for divorce and can impact the division of marital property. If a spouse engages in adultery and spends marital assets on a paramour, such as giving expensive gifts, the non-adulterous spouse may have a claim for reimbursement. South Carolina is an equitable distribution state, which means that marital property is divided in a manner that the court deems fair, though not necessarily equal. The court may consider the adulterous spouse's dissipation of marital assets when dividing property. The non-cheating spouse can request the court to order reimbursement for the value of the gifts from the adulterous spouse's separate property. This is to ensure that the marital estate is compensated for the loss incurred due to the adulterous spouse's actions. It is important to note that the specifics of each case can vary, and the outcome may depend on the evidence presented and the discretion of the court.