Please be seated. Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning, Ron.

This is the case of Cleveland v. Cleveland. Thank you, sir.

Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. JUDGE LAKE: Ms.

Cleveland you say your 18-month marriage is in jeopardy because your husband denies he is your son, Hunter's biological father. Is that correct? STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: You have no doubts and you are desperate to prove he is the father and save your marriage? Yes, Your Honor. Mr Cleveland, you admit that your wife was unfaithful and you have good reason to doubt Hunter is yours, is that correct?

Yes, Your Honor. Additionally, you have petitioned the court for a lie detector test for your wife to determine the extent of her infidelities. Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cleveland, what is the state of your marriage right now? Our marriage are.

. . Is currently on the rocks.

We argue on a daily. . .

I see him treating our son differently than he does his daughter and it bothers me. . .

I try not to treat him any differently. I try to treat him like he's mine. You said you try to, Mr Cleveland.

Yes, ma'am. I mean, it's a little hard sometimes. I'm not gonna lie, Your Honor.

I mean, there's that thought there that he is not mine and that makes a person really emotionally upset. There are times that I'm holding him, I look at him and, you know, I don't see me in him. And I have to sit him down and walk away because it's just.

. . It's too hard.

. . He is only one and a half years old.

He has a whole life to grow and to get more features that resemble my husband. ADAM: Yes, he does. But.

. . STEPHANIE: He is so young.

And a handsome little guy. ADAM: He can grow to look like me but I just. .

. I don't see it. I see so many features of.

. . I see so many features that aren't me and it makes me wonder.

So, you just don't see yourself when you hold him? And this, I'm sure is affecting him in some ways but affecting your marriage as well. ADAM: Yes, Your Honor.

STEPHANIE: A lot. JUDGE LAKE: How? We fight all the time over everything.

There's never a calm moment in our life. We're. .

. You said never a calm moment. STEPHANIE: No, ma'am.

Well, that can't be good for you or the children. ADAM: It's not. So, you're constantly arguing?

BOTH: Yes, ma'am. We try to stay away from each other as much as possible, so we don't argue. ADAM: Which.

. . We really do.

All of this stems from this paternity doubt? Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: It has literally permeated the fabric of your marriage?

And is destroying it? ADAM: Yes, Your Honor, it does. I mean, like she said and I feel like I'm living a lie, Your Honor.

You know, I've been lied to and cheated on, and you know. . .

Uh, Your Honor, I've never cheated on him. I left him before I ever did anything with any other man. Uh, okay.

And so, the text and everything behind my back isn't cheating? I consider that cheating. What are the texts behind your back?

Like sexy messages. Like, "I miss you, "I love you, you're so handsome. " And you're right about that.

You're right about. . .

Wait. Who are you sending those texts to? STEPHANIE: Um.

. . Your husband, I hope.

No, because, um, my husband didn't treat me like a husband. And I just. .

. I feel unappreciated and unrespected and so, I. .

. Another man was giving me the respect and. .

. Sometimes, Your Honor, yes, yes, I do treat her less and I do treat her wrong sometimes, yes. But a lot of it does stem from.

. . I mean, I feel like I'm living a lie, Your Honor.

Why do you feel that way? Uh, I'm in a marriage, you know, my wife's a cheater. I don't know if this little guy is mine or not.

I mean, I feel like I'm living a lie. I am not a cheater. I didn't cheat on you.

Who are you texting? He was an old friend of mine from school. But isn't that cheating of some form?

Isn't that at least emotional cheating? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) It is, Your Honor. That's cheating, yeah.

I was ready to call it quits. I was ready to wash my hands with the whole situation. I was ready for a divorce.

He finds out that I kissed this guy and he wants to be husband of the world, you know. He wouldn't. .

. Wanted to be a perfect husband. When did you find out you were pregnant with Hunter?

I found out two weeks before we got back together. And once you found out you were pregnant, you all reconciled? Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: You decided to reconcile, Mr Cleveland? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And why is that?

Did you reconcile because you believed Hunter was your biological child? ADAM: Yes, Your Honor and. .

. Oh. I talked to her belly every day, you know, I went.

. . I went to work, you know, I sung to him while he was in her.

. . In her.

. . In her belly.

I played him music, you know, I've talked to him. I went to work to provide things for him, you know, his crib, you know, to get everything set up before he came along. So, how did it go wrong and get to the point where you didn't believe this child was your child?

A month after he was born she informed me that he could possibly not be mine. STEPHANIE: Your Honor, that is not true. You are not.

. . That is not true.

I told him the first month I was pregnant that it could be his or his friend's. ADAM: No, no, no. Wait, what?

Hold on. Don't just gloss over that. You told him a month.

. . What did you say?

I was a month pregnant and I told him it could be his child but it could also be his friend's because me and his friend had a sexual relationship. No, she didn't, Your Honor. Otherwise, I would not have stuck around through that pregnancy if I knew they're.

. . JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute.

So, wait. He told me he'd be there. .

. You had sex with your husband's friend? He was my friend initially before I knew they were friends, but yes.

They were friends also. You basically informed him that the father of this child could either be, "You, my husband, or your friend. " Yes, Your Honor.

And Mr Cleveland, you disagree? ADAM: Yes, Your Honor. What is your testimony?

It was a month after he was born that I found out that he. . .

There's a possibility he wouldn't have been mine. Did you go to the birth? ADAM: Yes, ma'am.

I was there right after he came out. I was there beside him while they were cleaning him off, you know, all bloody and everything. Uh, you know, I was the first person to hold him.

I was the first person to get to take him to his mother I mean, it was a very joyous time of my life. I didn't leave his side for two, almost three hours. I mean, I stayed.

. . JUDGE LAKE: And at that moment you thought you had a beautiful baby boy that was yours?

Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And it wasn't until a month after that you said it was revealed to you that your friend could also be the father. Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: How did she tell you this? (CHUCKLES) Um, we were sitting at the house playing with Hunter and it just, kind of, came out. She looked at me and she said, "Adam, there's something I have to tell you.

" And I said, "What is it? " And she said, "I slept with one of your friends "around the time of conception "and there's a chance that he's not yours. " Really?

ADAM: "I want you to know that "and I think we may need to get a paternity test done "to see if he's yours or not. " Okay. So, let me just ask you the obvious question.

How do you end up sleeping with his friend? Um, his friend was giving me a different lifestyle. He was cleaning my lifestyle up.

Um, I was involved in church every Sunday. I wasn't out running the streets like I was with my husband at the time. I was doing something with myself and it made.

. . JUDGE LAKE: You were going to church every Sunday and you end up sleeping with your husband's friend?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) STEPHANIE: No. No, Your Honor. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ADAM: No, Your Honor.

I mean. . .

She liked that he had money, Your Honor. And I was down. Your Honor, that's not true.

I was at a down and out point in my life and I was in a financial crisis and he. . .

She liked the fact that he had more money. He didn't even have a job, Your Honor. ADAM: I don't know what.

. . So, Ms.

Cleveland, what was it about this relationship that attracted you? Because you had unprotected sex with this person. Yes.

Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And that's why you had to admit to Mr Cleveland, your husband, that this child may not be your biological child. Yes, Your Honor.

I. . .

JUDGE LAKE: Was it just one time or were you all in a full relationship? Um, no. It was just once.

It was just a one-time thing. I felt horrible about it. My heart was with my husband.

I love him with all my heart. And I knew that it was wrong for me to be having sexual relationships with him when I didn't even care for him in that manner. JUDGE LAKE: So.

. . ADAM: So, if you didn't care for him like that to begin with, why would you go to him?

If you had a. . .

If your heart was with me. . .

For the lifestyle. Why? For the lifestyle he was giving me.

Maybe if you just stuck with me and been a little more loyal, I wouldn't have been so down and out. And I realize that, and that's why I came back. I realize that.

But you hurt me when you left and you don't realize how much you hurt me when you left. You're supposed to stay loyal when somebody's down and out like that, not run off on him. That's how I met you.

You hadn't changed. I've been through too many cheating relationships, Your Honor. I'm through with it.

I'm fed up with it. I feel like I'm living a lie. And so, at some point, even after all of this, you all got back together?

STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor. Yes, Your Honor, we did. He married me a month before my son was born.

JUDGE LAKE: Well, so, at that point. . .

I mean, you all look happy. STEPHANIE: We were. ADAM: We were, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: And when you see that picture, Ms. Cleveland it makes you. .

. It hurts me inside. Because that's not at all how we are anymore.

It's not. It hurts me, too, Your Honor. And we're looking.

. . I don't know.

We need to get some answers. We need to get to the bottom of this. STEPHANIE: Our past wasn't left in our past when we got married, Your Honor, and that's where I think we messed up.

JUDGE LAKE: Yes. So, that's why, Mr Cleveland, you're requesting a lie detector test. In addition to the paternity result.

There's no trust. You all do not trust one another. We don't.

JUDGE LAKE: And the beautiful people we see in these photos. . .

(STEPHANIE SOBS) This beautiful family we're looking at, you just said, Ms. Cleveland it's all a lie. STEPHANIE: It's all a lie.

That's all an act. That's all an act. That's not real.

That's not how we feel about each other. And the fact that it hurts both of you that much to admit that it is a lie. Yes.

I mean, she just admitted she kissed another guy. STEPHANIE: I did. How did you end up kissing another guy when you're married?

What happened? (SIGHS) Adam and I continuously fight every day in and out from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep. And he was at work.

I had gotten a message from this guy that I've been friends with since seventh grade talking about how beautiful I was, just saying all the right things to me, just made me feel wonderful about myself. And I made the mistake of going to see him. And when we were sitting there talking, it just happened.

We kissed and I felt horrible about it. I felt like a gross person inside. I got in my car and I left.

And I walked around with that burden that I kissed another man being married and I told him a week later that, you know, I had messed up and I needed his forgiveness because I couldn't continue living like that. ADAM: She didn't tell me a week later, Your Honor. I told you, I've been in cheating relationships before.

I got that gut feeling like I had before and I waited until she went to sleep that night and I went through her phone and I found messages. "I can't wait to see you, you have handsome lips. " So, uh, you know, and just all those.

. . And you're seeing this.

. . You're reading this in her phone?

With my own two eyes. And I woke her up immediately and asked her what the heck was going on. I mean, uh, I wanted to wait, but I was so wrapped up with emotion at the time.

I wanted answers right then. This is my family, but, you know, since then, there she's told me, you know, there's a possibility he's not and we've been waiting for the chance to see if he's mine or not. And I really need to know.

Good, and that's exactly why we're here. If he's not mine and if the lie detector test proves that she is lying, I'm afraid this marriage is gonna be over. I can't continue to do this.

I really can't. Ms. Cleveland.

STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor? The stakes are high here today. It hurts.

It hurts a lot. But. .

. You came into court believing that your husband was 100%, 100%. .

. The father of this beautiful little boy. STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE LAKE: Do you still believe that. . .

STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor. . .

. in this moment? STEPHANIE: I do.

JUDGE LAKE: You do? He is the father of my son, that's all there is to it. She believes it with everything in her but I'm a good dad and I know it.

I'm a. . .

I'm a great father. I was raised by a great father. And, uh, I was taught how to be a great dad.

And she sees that in me. And I think that's part of her motivation to hold on to this, is that she knows that he will have a good father. I think it's time to get the lie detector results, and then we will get the paternity results.

Ron, I'm ready for the envelope. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Cleveland, you met with a licensed polygraph expert. STEPHANIE: Yes, Your Honor.

Before I read these lie detector results, what do you believe we will find out today? The truth. You were asked if you had sexual intercourse with the man you admitted to kissing recently, you said, no.

The lie detector determined that was. . .

The truth. (SNIFFLES) Thank God. (SNIFFLES) Thank God.

JUDGE LAKE: Are you okay, Mr Cleveland? That makes me feel a little better. I told you.

(ADAM SNIFFLES) Mr. Cleveland, you were asked, since you have been married, have you had sexual intercourse with anyone besides your husband, you said, no. Yes.

JUDGE LAKE: The lie detector determined that was. . .

The truth. (SOBBING) Good news, Mr Cleveland? Yes.

That makes me feel a little better. . .

A little better about the situation, it does. Here I have been thinking this whole time she is, you know, been lying to me. I can't trust her to go out with her friends because I don't know that she's telling me the truth and it makes me feel better to find out.

It makes me believe that I can trust her again that maybe we can go somewhere with this. Good. But we do need to make clear that we still have the paternity results.

Ron. (EXHALES SHARPLY) Thank you. These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows.

In the case of Cleveland v. Cleveland, when it comes to 17-month-old Hunter Cleveland. .

. It has been determined by this court, Mr Cleveland. .

. Yes, Your Honor? JUDGE LAKE: You.

. . .

. . are not the father.

(AUDIENCE GASPS) (SOBBING) ADAM: I thought so. I really thought so. I mean, I can.

. . I just.

. . I see it.

I. . .

I strongly looked at all the pictures and made myself wanna believe that he was mine but. . .

I just knew he wasn't. (SNIFFLES) I'm so sorry. ADAM: It's okay.

(SNIFFLES) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Cleveland? Yes, ma'am?

You had told him that it possibly could be someone else's biological child. Yes, ma'am. Does this other person know?

Yes, Your Honor. He does know and he wants nothing to do with him. That's right.

He wants nothing to do with his child which is one of the reason that I literally stayed through this because I know in my heart, honestly, I wanted to leave before now, but. . .

I couldn't pull myself away from it because I knew that this little guy needed a father. So, that's the only reason you're staying with me? No, it's not just because of that.

It's. . .

I love you, you know. I want this marriage to work. I'm glad to find out the truth.

You have to understand, Mr Cleveland and I've done this for a long time now. She's not angry at you. She's angry at herself.

Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: You all love each other. You are still married.

Yes, Your Honor, we are. JUDGE LAKE: And so, as long as you are still married, there's an opportunity to save the marriage if you both want to work at it. We have counseling for you, resources available to you.

We want you to take advantage of them. All right? This courtroom is all about children and all about family.

And you all definitely are a beautiful family. ADAM: Thank you, Your Honor. I wish you the very best of luck.

Court is adjourned.