Woman Got Engaged While Married To Another Man (Full Episode) | Paternity Court

You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello.

This is the case of Hodges v. Willard. Thank you, Jerome.

Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr Hodges, you and your mom opened your case today because you both say the defendant is a liar and a cheater.

You don't believe you fathered her one-month-old daughter, Lilian Willard and plan to prove that today. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor.

Ms. Willard, you too are here with your mother, and the two of you testify that you are 1,000% sure Mr Hodges fathered your daughter. Is that correct?

Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr Hodges, explain to me why you think Ms. Willard is a liar and a cheater?

She cheated on me, and I caught her with multiple guys. Ooh. She had one hidden in the room.

And when we first got together, she said that she would never hurt me or cheat on me. She would be truthful. And yet she's lied to me left and right.

Ms. Willard, you kept lying and you keep cheating? Um, no, I did not.

I had a guy over at my house, yes. He was visiting because he was a childhood friend, and I didn't tell him, because I knew he'd flip out. Because I know how he is.

I want to understand the nature of this relationship. Where did you meet? I met him through a family member of his.

She had a one-night-stand with him, and I was there to comfort her, and we talked for a week or so, and. . .

Oh, you met her after she had a one-night stand with another guy, and then she cried on your shoulder? And then you and she got together? Yes, Your Honor.

Ms. Blevins. .

. BLEVINS: Yes, ma'am. I understand that you are the one who pushed your son to open this case.

Yes, Your Honor. And why did you do that? Um, because I knew that she had been cheating on him.

He had caught her with another guy, that she said was a friend, but yet, he was hidden in her house when my son got there. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) You found him hiding in the house? HODGES: Yes, Your Honor.

Hiding in the house where? In her mother's bedroom. (AUDIENCE GASPING) But.

. . But, Your Honor.

. . But, Your Honor.

. . Did you help hide the other guy in your bedroom when Mr Hodges came?

CHAMPION: I did. . .

They had broke up. So why do you have to hide anybody? Because she didn't want him to know.

She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to start no trouble, because Harley's got a temper. Well, we was engaged.

CHAMPION: It was my understanding they had broke up. So were you engaged, or were you broken up? We was engaged.

Yeah, we. . .

We were engaged. JUDGE LAKE: So you were engaged, Ms. Willard?

Yes, ma'am. So now, that makes more sense. When your fiance came in the house, then you hid this other guy.

. . 'Cause I didn't want a fight to start.

And, Your Honor, she was already married when they got engaged that my son didn't know about. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) JUDGE LAKE: So you were engaged to Mr Hodges, but you were married to another guy at the time? Yes, Your Honor.

BLEVINS: I feel like he has been deceived and took advantage of. JUDGE LAKE: What was your first impression when you met Ms. Willard?

What did you think? I thought she was sneaky. She always kept her phone on her, she never let him get a hold of it.

And when she was on it, and he would come around, she would hide it. I've had messages from a guy that she was seeing, while she was seeing my son. JUDGE LAKE: How did you find him?

It's the guy that was with her when Lilian was born at the hospital. Do you have those messages? BLEVINS: Yes, ma'am.

Let me have those. Jerome, can you please bring me those messages. Thank you.

JEROME: You're welcome. Ms. Blevins says, "I do understand my son was engaged to her "and caught her cheating.

" The other mans says, "We got together on June 2 of last year. " Ms. Blevins, you say, "Let me check the dates, give me a minute.

" Yes, ma'am. Ms. Blevins, you say, together, "August split up a few times in between and broke up for good "October 6, 2017.

" The other man said, "So she cheated on both of us. " (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) And you write back, "Looks that way. " Yes, ma'am.

So, Ms. Willard, were you dating this man and Mr Hodges at the same time? No, Your Honor.

Your Honor. . .

So why is this man saying this? He's giving all these specific details to Ms. Blevins.

He was at the hospital when Lilian was born. Yes, I was with him at that time. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Your Honor, he's saying that, he's saying that because he wants my daughter.

I've been through it with this person. When, I think it was in February, right after Christmas sometime, when she didn't even know that she was pregnant at that time. She left my house with him, and she texted me about.

. . She was about five months, six months pregnant, something like that, maybe.

And she told me she was pregnant. You're speaking about when your daughter was pregnant with Lilian. CHAMPION: Yes, that's when.

. . Is Lilian your only child?

No, Your Honor. She hid that from us, too, at first. Back it up.

Back it up. So she hid that she had a husband before she met you, and you were engaged to her when she really already had a husband. She hid that she had had a child, and she also hid a man in her mother's house, when you came over?

Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr Hodges, take me to the day you found out Ms. Willard was pregnant.

She called me and she said that she was eight months pregnant, And. . .

Yes, ma'am. Eight months? Later on down the road, I'm sitting there texting her every day, asking about the baby, seeing if the doctor's appointments are going well and everything, come and find out when we called her OBG to see when her next appointment was, they said it was a check-up for the baby.

JUDGE LAKE: Check up? HODGES: Yes, ma'am. For the baby in her stomach.

. . BLEVINS: I have the evidence, Your Honor.

. . .

or the baby. . .

Out. Postpartum, Your Honor. Postpartum.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) This is just too much lying. You have evidence? What's that?

I have evidence. . .

JUDGE LAKE: Let me see that, please. . .

. that he could take to her. JUDGE LAKE: May 27.

Ms. Hodges writes to Ms. Willard, "How's the baby doing?

" Ms. Willard says, "She's okay, her lungs aren't fully developed right now. " And then you write, "And when is she due?

" And you write back, Ms. Willard, "I don't know. Doc is showing me a different due date "and she won't be here 'til July.

"So if that's the case, you ain't got nothing more to worry about. " That was on May 27 at 8:25 a. m.

And Lilian was born on what day? May 23. Twenty-third.

(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Ms. Willard, this is too much lying. I know.

JUDGE LAKE: This is just too much lying. Now, I've heard about five lies already. What is going on?

Why are you texting him like the baby isn't born when the baby is born? Okay, he's married now. And I just didn't want to break up a marriage when he found out he had a kid by another person.

That's it. But you had told him "I'm pregnant eight months, "I didn't find out 'til I was six months. " You told him anyway.

So what is this about breaking up a marriage? You'd already told him you were pregnant. Because I was with the other guy, and I had been living with him for a while, and I thought I was gonna keep living with him, but we broke up.

And this is the other man that was at the hospital when Lilian was born? WILLARD: Yes, Your Honor. Did you ever tell this other man that he was Lilian's biological father?

No, I did not. So why not allow the man who supposedly is her biological father to be present for the birth, or at least know she's in the world? That was my fault, Your Honor.

Well, listen, and I'm not just being hard on you, I'm trying to uncover what's going on, 'cause it is your fault, but I want to know why. Why are you lying? What was the lie about?

Was it because you didn't want. . .

You wanted to be with the other guy, so you didn't want Mr Hodges up there? No, that's not why. So what was it?

BLEVINS: Your Honor, she wanted. . .

She wanted to do a DNA test on the other guy first. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) Just to make sure. So wait, hold on now.

Now, that's another lie you just told right here. I just asked you, did you tell the other guy, could he possibly be the biological father, and you said no. I never told him that.

He wanted a DNA test, so I was gonna give him one. And then we found out he was the dad, and he was like, "Well, don't worry about it, 'cause now I know. " How'd you find out he was the dad?

We're here in this courtroom to find out. Because of the way that she looked. She looks just like him.

Have you seen her? She looks just like him. JUDGE LAKE: Oh, so you're saying once the baby was born, you felt like, "This is Mr Hodges' baby, we don't even have to do this.

" I felt that way. When that baby come out. .

. When that baby came out, I was standing right there when she popped out, that baby was Harley made over. JUDGE LAKE: Okay, and look, we.

. . We often examine physical appearance in this courtroom.

. . CHAMPION: There you go.

. . .

because we know that that's a natural way that people tend to identify or how they deal with paternity questions. They often compare physical features. What we also have come to know in this courtroom, is that does not prove anything.

CHAMPION: Well, no. So, what I want to understand is, did you ever test the other guy? The one that said that "I want the DNA test.

" No, Your Honor. But if another guy says, "I want a DNA test "because I think this could be my baby", then that says to me, you might be lying about whether or not he could potentially be the father. Okay, Your Honor, he actually would do anything to be with my daughter.

But see, what I'm concerned about is, we've got text messages that indicate you were lying about the time frame. So do you believe this other guy thought you might have been lying about the time frame as it relates to him? He might have.

And that's why he asked for the DNA test? Yeah. What are you feeling in this moment, Ms.

Willard? I see your hand, you have tears in your eyes. I feel like I'm being jumped on.

Mmm-hmm. Basically. Everyone's against me.

Do you also feel like you know you're responsible for a lot of what's happening here? Yes, and I take credit for that. JUDGE LAKE: Do you have a reason or an understanding as to why you do tell all of the lies you tell?

You mean, be honest with you? He's married, and I just wanted a family. JUDGE LAKE: That's okay.

You can take your time, 'cause I knew something was on your heart. 'Cause you're out there just spinning. I've never seen her in all her time of dating guys.

. . I have never seen her take a guy with her everywhere she goes.

But what I think your daughter is saying. . .

And this is. . .

And you are giving me. . .

You are giving me great insight, Ms. Champion, to what's happening here. (WILLARD SNIFFLING) You're not listening to her.

Kristina, I heard you. You say you just wanted a family. You love Mr Hodges, but it's not just about wanting to be family with him, it's that you wanted a family.

You wanted to try to make the family you didn't have growing up, right? Now I get it. (SNIFFLES) I know it's not easy to be here, and you're caught here in this lie, and that lie, and this lie and that lie, it's hard when it all comes out on the table.

It's the breaking down so it can build you back up. I just want to know, do you truly believe Mr Hodges is the biological father, without a doubt? Or is it that you so desperately want him to be, because this is the family, in your mind, you wanted to put together?

No, I believe it. JUDGE LAKE: You do? WILLARD: That's the only person I was with.

Mr Hodges, and Ms. Blevins, what kind of relationship have you built with Lilian thus far? She's one month old.

We've been keeping her. We've been seeing her since we first found out about her. Kristina lets us see her, and we've had her for over a week now.

I'm spending time with her. And. .

. And, Your Honor, I want to say, I don't want no hard feelings with Kristina. (VOICE CRACKING) I just want to know if this is my grandbaby.

Mr Hodges, HODGES: Yes, Your Honor. Tell the court how you feel. You've developed a bond thus far with this beautiful baby, (KRISTINA SOBBING) HODGES: I feel betrayed.

And hurt. I want the baby to be mine. I do.

JUDGE LAKE: You do? Yes, Your Honor. You sincerely want this baby to be yours?

I do. Even though you're married to someone else right now, you still really want this baby to be yours? Yes, Your Honor.

Being there with her, just got attached. I'm used to her being there. Well, I believe I've taken enough testimony, and I am ready for the results.

How about you? (APPLAUSE) Thank you, Jerome. These results were prepared by DNA diagnostics, and they read as follows.

I want the baby to be mine. In the case of Hodges v. Willard, when it comes to one-month-old Lilian Willard, it has been determined by this court, Mr Hodges, you are the father.

We have the answer we needed. And it was actually the answer all of you wanted. You okay, honey?

Yeah, I'm fine. I want to meet with you both in my chambers. Do you understand?

Yes, Your Honor. Yes, Your Honor. Court is adjourned.

(APPLAUSE) Well, Mr Hodges, Ms. Willard, I know that was an emotional hearing. After I reviewed your court papers earlier, I found out that both of you had dropped out of high school very early on.

And neither one of you have your GED. We here at Paternity Court have paid for GED courses for both of you that we want you to take advantage of so that you can go on and go to college if you wish, and pursue whatever it is you want. Because in this life, we know knowledge is power, right?

And in order for you to be able to teach Lilian the things you need to teach her, you have to be willing to do the same. Is that something that you all will take advantage of? Yes.

Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: Good. I know it was a tough day on you, Ms.

Willard, but you were honest today, but going forward, I want you to understand how important the truth is, right? Not just telling the truth to others, but telling the truth to who? Myself.

JUDGE LAKE: To yourself. We have counseling and resources for you to help you figure out how to take the first step. Okay?

Okay. All right. I wish you the very best of luck.