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 Tennessee, adultery is considered a ground for fault-based divorce, and the state's laws allow for the consideration of marital misconduct, including adultery, when dividing marital property. If a spouse uses marital assets to buy gifts for a paramour, the non-cheating spouse may have a claim for reimbursement. Tennessee courts can take into account the dissipation of marital assets when one spouse uses those assets for a purpose unrelated to the marriage, such as supporting an extramarital affair. The non-cheating spouse can request the court to order reimbursement to the marital estate for the value of the gifts given to the paramour. The court may order the cheating spouse to return the gift if it retains its value, such as jewelry, or to replace the funds with their separate property. This is to ensure an equitable division of marital property during the divorce proceedings.