Husband awarded $1 mil after successfully suing wife's lover

A man in the US has been awarded roughly $AUD1 million in damages after his wife cheated on him.

The kicker: it's to be paid to him by his ex-wife's lover.

The Superior Court judge decided Greg Jernigan must pay Robert Kevin Howard for sleeping with his wife, Julie George.

It sounds made up, but cheating with someone who is married and causing their divorce is illegal in North Carolina and five other states in the US.

The law is called the alienation of affection law, and the other states that recognise it are Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and North Carolina.

These 'homewrecker' laws date back to the 18th century and allow for someone to sue for damages if a third party breaks up a happy home.

Howard tells WITN he pursued the case because he feels the sanctity of marriage is important.

According to court records, Howard sued Jernigan for alienation of affection and criminal conversation and was successful in doing so.

It's an unusual law, and according to legal professionals, one that can have consequences later on, especially if there are children involved. This is because once a case is filed it becomes public record so anyone can see it.

Howard's attorney Cynthia Mills estimated he probably spent between $10,000 to $75,000 USD in attorney fees over the two years, so he most likely won't be seeing much of the money.

That doesn't bother Howard, however; for him it wasn't about the money.

"My client will probably not see any of this money," she said to WITN. "It was a moral victory for him."