"Finally Found Love at 37, Spent 100 Million Won on Wedding... Months Later, Wife's Shocking Secret Revealed"

Married in Three Days Through Matchmaking Agency
Matchmaking Agency Vanishes After Bride's False History Is Revealed
Chinese Authorities Launch Nationwide Crackdown on Matchmaking Industry

In China, so-called "ultra-fast marriage" scams targeting men who have difficulty finding spouses due to the severe gender imbalance are rampant.

So-called 'ultra-fast marriage' scams targeting men who have difficulty finding spouses due to severe gender imbalance in China are rampant. Stock photo unrelated to the article content. Getty Images

On August 11 local time, the BBC reported that “as the market for ‘flash marriages’—where couples get married in just a few days through matchmaking agencies—expands in China, the number of victims losing large sums of money is increasing.”

Wang Zhuang, a 37-year-old Chinese man, had been seeking a spouse for a long time when he came across an advertisement from a matchmaking agency. The agency offered to introduce him to a woman from Guizhou Province, saying this would help him avoid the risk of a long relationship that doesn’t end in marriage.

Married in Three Days, Lost 100 Million Won... Matchmaking Agency Disappears

The agency claimed that women from Guizhou Province are frugal, good at housework, and would settle down stably after marriage due to their difficult family circumstances. Trusting this, Wang traveled to Guiyang in southwestern China to find a spouse. The two met four or five times, but each meeting lasted only 8–10 minutes. The agency also banned them from exchanging phone numbers or personal contact information, citing potential penalties.

Wang was told that the woman had never married before, had no children, and was a bit younger than him. He recalled that she dressed plainly and appeared introverted and honest. Within two to three days of meeting, Wang decided to marry her and paid the bride's family more than 300,000 yuan (about 63 million won) in wedding gifts. Including the costs of the wedding ceremony, Wang's total expenditure reached 400,000 to 500,000 yuan (about 84 million to 105 million won).

However, several months after the marriage, creditors who claimed to have lent money to his wife began contacting him. Becoming suspicious, Wang found a birth certificate and documents related to previous marriages on his wife’s mobile phone.

Upon investigation, Wang discovered that his wife had previously worked as a karaoke hostess, had been married three times, and had three children. She had lied about her age and marital history, and Wang claims she also had significant debt and a serious sexually transmitted disease.

When Wang confronted her, she agreed to divorce but refused to return the bride price. When Wang tried to contact the agency again, he found that the office had already closed, and the agency had disappeared. Wang is currently proceeding with divorce litigation and seeking to recover his losses.

Image extracted by AI

Marriage Scams Targeting Men Struggling to Find Spouses on the Rise

The BBC reported that marriage scams targeting men who have difficulty finding spouses due to China's gender imbalance are rampant. As a result of the former one-child policy and a preference for sons, there are currently about 30 million more men than women in China.

The problem is especially acute for men in their late thirties or older living in small cities and rural areas, who face severe difficulties in finding a spouse. Wang commented that in his region, men are expected to own a car and a house and come from families that run a business in order to get married. In some areas, the bride price, or "caili," paid by the groom’s family, is also a significant burden for men.

The photo is not related to a specific expression in the article. The Asia Business Daily DB.

Taking advantage of this situation, more men are turning to “flash marriage” matchmaking agencies that promise quick introductions. However, as the market expands, cases of related illegal activities are also increasing, according to Chinese state media. While the exact number of victims is unknown, between January 2024 and March of last year, Chinese prosecutors handled 1,546 criminal cases related to the matchmaking industry.

Recently, one agency used karaoke bar hostesses as bait and defrauded 128 victims of more than 2.5 million yuan (about 525 million won). Five Chinese government agencies have launched a nationwide joint crackdown on matchmaking agencies in August.

A representative from a Guiyang matchmaking agency said that the flash marriage market had formed over just the past two to three years and that demand was considerable. One agency promoted itself with the slogan, “Three days with the right introduction is better than three years of dating.”

A matchmaking agency representative interviewed by the BBC admitted that they do not conduct formal background checks on their clients. However, they claimed that local matchmakers know the women and their families well and insisted that more than 90% of the information provided by clients is true.

There are also claims that, under Chinese law, it is difficult to prosecute marriage scams as criminal offenses. Chinese law has no specific charge for marriage fraud, so victims must prove that their spouse entered the marriage from the outset with the intention of stealing money. Although Wang was able to recover some of his losses, the divorce process has dragged on for nearly two years. He said, “I don’t know when this will end and I can return to a normal life,” adding, “I can hardly even think about getting married now.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.