A man in China has sparked heated online debate after filing for divorce just six months into marriage, claiming his wife would vomit whenever he tried to hug her and refused all physical intimacy.
According to reports from Fujian province, the man, identified as A Kuan, said he spent more than 720,000 yuan (approximately RM470,000) on wedding expenses before marrying his wife, A Ting, in September 2024.
The couple reportedly met through mutual friends before registering their marriage and holding a wedding ceremony.
A Kuan claimed he paid 288,000 yuan in betrothal money, 91,000 yuan for traditional gold jewellery gifts, as well as additional costs for wedding banquets, red packet customs and other marriage-related expenses.
However, despite being legally married, he alleged the couple never truly lived together as husband and wife.
According to him, his wife frequently stayed alone at a rented property in another area due to work commitments and only returned to the marital home briefly once a week.
What troubled him most, however, was her extreme resistance towards physical contact.
Recalling one incident during an interview with Chinese media, A Kuan claimed: “One time I hugged her and she immediately started trembling before running to the toilet to vomit.”
He said the couple never managed to consummate the marriage throughout the six months they were together, leaving him emotionally devastated.
After repeated discussions and failed attempts by both families to resolve the issue, A Kuan eventually decided to seek a divorce and demanded a full refund of all wedding-related expenses.
However, the woman’s father disputed many of the claims.
He insisted his daughter was not unwilling to continue the marriage and claimed the couple had attempted intimacy but faced difficulties due to psychological stress and nervousness.
He also argued that the dowry money had already been returned to the couple, although the husband allegedly refused to acknowledge it.
As for the wedding banquet and other expenses, the father said those were voluntary spending decisions and should not be fully borne by the woman’s family.
While the wife reportedly agreed to the divorce, she refused to return the large sum demanded by her husband, with the matter now expected to be settled in court.
Legal experts in China noted that a lack of sexual relations alone is not automatically recognised as legal grounds for divorce.
However, considering the short marriage period and the alleged failure to fulfil marital obligations, courts may still determine that the relationship has irretrievably broken down.
Medical experts quoted in local reports suggested the woman may possibly suffer from a condition known as sexual aversion disorder.
The condition is described as a strong psychological repulsion towards sexual activity or intimate thoughts, sometimes accompanied by physical symptoms such as trembling, nausea and vomiting.
Experts stressed that the disorder differs from simply having a low sex drive and may require professional psychological treatment and emotional support from partners.
