It's not everyday a man is awarded $9 million, but says he can't enjoy the huge payday.
But for Keith King, 48, of North Carolina, the massive sum he won in a lawsuit against his wife's lover is no cause for celebration.
King, who used an obscure law to take the homewrecker to court, says he would give up every dollar to win his wife back.
"Every time he knew I was out of town, he would come into town."
King and his wife, Danielle, 33, have been married since 2010. And, if you ask King, they were perfectly happy together.
Then, Danielle met Francisco Huizar III, and they began to see each other behind King's back.
In 2015, King learned the truth after finding text messages with Huizar on Danielle's phone, and confronted his wife's lover about the affair.
"I called him from her phone and I said, 'She's a married woman, leave her alone. Don't you ever contact her again,'" King told Inside Edition.
But King says his "murdered" marriage never recovered, and Danielle continued seeing Huizar.
"Every time he knew I was out of town, he would come into town," King said, claiming the lovers would sometimes meet at a hotel just a mile from their home.
Last year, Danielle moved out of the home into a new apartment. When King visited his wife, he found Huizar with her.
In a video of the confrontation taped by Danielle, a tearful King pleads with Huizar, "She's my wife man - she's my wife!"
The "Heart Bomb" Law
A story like King's is tragic, but not unusual. The twist came when this heartbroken husband sued his wife's lover using an obscure law.
Called the "heart bomb" law, North Carolina's "alienation of affection" clause lets a jilted spouse sue a third party for interfering in their marriage.
While most of these laws have been phased out, they're still on the books in six states.
Legal analyst Dan Abrams calls them "antiquated laws," from an era "when women were effectively considered property of their husbands."
They're also very tricky to use. The injured party has to prove that their spouse had love and affection for them, and that the affection was destroyed by someone outside the marriage.
Over the years, King had collected an impressive paper trail of text messages, hotel receipts, and counseling sessions charting his failed marriage.
He was even able to submit his BMX Stunt Show business' lost earnings as evidence, along with bills for nannies and housekeepers.
Meanwhile, King admits that Huizar was probably blindsided by the legal maneuver.
"I think he thought it was a joke," he said.
"It felt like the truth had come out, like I was right."
Danielle told a very different story in the court case, describing King as a control freak who forced her to dye her hair and work at his businesses for free.
But a North Carolina judge sided with King, awarding him an $8.8 million reward.
$2.2 million is described as compensation for King, while the remaining $6.6 million is a penalty for Huizar.
King's lawyer, Dorothy O'Neill, said this case "just happened to have all the factors" for a successful decision.
"Most of the cases people want to bring never yield this type of result."
But a North Carolina woman also successfully sued her husband's mistress for almost $9 million, and another case included a $30 million penalty.
Still, King claims this case was never about the money for him, and insists he won't see the $8.8 million anyway.
"There isn't a dollar amount that you can put on it for what I think my family's worth," he said.
He even insisted to ABC News that, if Huizar had never met his wife, "I would be married right now, and we would keep growing our family, and that got destroyed."
Huizar plans to appeal the decision.
Can you put a price on a broken heart? And who should pay that price if you do?
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[H/T: Inside Edition, ABC News, WRAL]
