>
A complicated custody battle over a celebrity’s children unfolding in Denver has escalated into a major scandal in China.
Shuang Zheng, 31, considered a megastar actress in her homeland after starring in the TV series Meteor Shower, denies abusing her two surrogacy children in Colorado.
Zheng’s ex-husband, Heng Zhang, one of China’s most famous reality TV producers, says he wanted to abort the children after their separation while their surrogate mother was still pregnant. He also says the children were physically abused while in Zheng’s care.
The couple exchanged wedding vows in the United States in January 2019, before welcoming a son and daughter via surrogate in December of that year and in January 2020.
Surrogacy is prohibited in China, but traveling abroad to have surrogate children has increasingly become an option for some Chinese couples, especially wealthy ones.
However, two months before the birth of their children, the couple had separated. Zhang then revealed that her ex-partner wanted to abort her children despite her offer to raise them as a single parent.
Chinese megastar Shuang Zheng, 31, left, has been accused of physically abusing her two Colorado-born children via surrogacy by her ex-husband and reality TV producer, Heng Zhang, at the right.
One day, Zhang noticed a burn under his son’s nose after the boy returned from spending time with his mother.
The couple’s daughter also suffered cuts on one of her fingers and required several stitches.
“I told him I understood because you’re a celebrity and you don’t want anyone to know that you have a surrogate baby in the United States,” she said.
The producer alleged that Zheng had abandoned her two children after their two-year separation and did not want to sign legal documents allowing the children to travel to China.
Zheng denied the allegations, instead claiming that Zhang was cheating on her in September 2019. She eventually returned to China alone while Zhang settled in Denver with her parents and children.
So, a custody battle was secured. In 2020, Zheng filed for custody after Zhang alleged that she abandoned the family in the United States.
Heng Zhang is one of the most famous reality TV producers in China and married Zheng in 2018 in the US.
Zheng, left, and Zhang, right, welcomed a son and daughter via surrogate in December 2019 and January 2020. However, the clinic Zheng contracted with confirmed that the actress she wanted to terminate the pregnancies at the seventh month.
The fertility clinic Zheng participated in also claims she is owed $68,000 for the successful surrogacy, according to online today. The clinic also upheld Zheng’s request to terminate the pregnancies at the seventh month mark, which was denied.
The clinic further alleged that the actress wanted to make monthly payments to raise her children in the US, rather than bring them back to China.
Those claims, however, are not as serious as Zheng’s latest accusation made in Denver County Court, after he noticed bruises on his sons.
“In the past six months, my two sons were injured a lot when they stayed with my ex-girlfriend,” Zhang said. CBS Newsadding that her daughter needed stitches on one of her fingers, while her youngest son appeared to have suffered a burn below his nose.
The producer further revealed that his ex-partner’s accounts of the injuries are inconsistent and that his children are increasingly afraid of their mother as time goes by.
‘My son was so struggling, ‘No, don’t go dad. We’re going home. I fear that. I’m afraid of mommy” and of crying,’ Zhang said. “That’s why I called child protective services because he told me that mom did it.”
Zheng broke out in China after starring in the 2009 TV series Meteor Shower (pictured)
Zheng has been blacklisted by Chinese state regulators due to her surrogacy scandal and for dodging an estimated $2.3 million in taxes in 2021. She was dropped by Italian luxury brand Prada.
The single father added that the failure of child protective services to investigate his claims has prompted him to speak out.
‘I want everyone who lives in Colorado to know this story. The reason we have the child protective services department is because we want to protect our children before they get hurt, not after they get hurt, the department started investigating, that’s too late,” Zhang said.
Zheng denies her ex-husband’s claims in a statement issued by his lawyers, Martha Timmers and Madeleine Rosengrants of Sherman & Howard.
“Shuang Zheng unequivocally denies that he ever abused or neglected his children,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Zheng was found guilty of evading approximately $2.3 million in taxes in 2021.
Along with her surrogacy scandal, Chinese state regulators listed her among the ‘misconduct actors’ and thus blacklisted her and banned her from making public appearances and all existing public activities related to her career. entertainment were forced to cancel.
In January 2021, it was announced that Italian luxury brand Prada had cut ties with the actress, according to Reuters.