Did James Get a Marriage Contract?

**Did James Get a Marriage Contract?** James had an unsuccessful marriage that began in 2021 and ended in February 2023. Among James' fanbase there is a widely believed notion that he (or rather his mother) paid 10,000 dollars to the bride's father to arrange the marriage between the two. It's more than easy to believe; primarily because it's harder to accept that a woman in the real world actually chose to date and wed a frequently unemployed manchild such as James. The 10,000 dollar figure wasn't just made up, he mentioned giving the amount to his father-in-law albeit vaguely in a tweet. Is this an explicit payment for the marriage or merely something in Chinese tradition called a dowry? Probably the former, but there are still many angles to be covered here.

The reason why it is so hard to prove or disprove the marriage contract theory is because if it were true, James would probably never want to mention it online and only give small hints towards its existence. Sure, James almost never lies about his personal life, but he's more than happy to omit certain details. And that tweet mentioned earlier? That is the only time he has ever mentioned the conditions around the marriage, and in a very indirect manner. It would be very hard to piece together the puzzle without a greater understanding of social norms around marriage in modern China.

## Full Context to Marriage

The first thing to realize about marriage in China is that men and women in their 30's who have not married are seen as "leftovers" to everyone else. That is, most people in their 20's are expected to find a partner as soon as possible to marry quickly and those who don't, like James, are left behind. James was 37 at the time of his marriage and we know his wife was around the same age, which is practically ancient when it comes to the Chinese dating scene. It's not particularly known why the ex-wife is unmarried at her age, perhaps she is a divorcee, but James has never mentioned anything so we can only guess.

In China, a dowry is a gift traditionally given from the groom to the bride's parents, almost to say "thank you" for raising the daughter that he plans to marry. Those familiar with this subject might recognize that the genders here are swapped, as typically in other Asian countries it is actually the *bride* who must bring a gift to the *groom*'s parents. However, in China the number of single men are now greatly exceeding the number of single women, giving the brides enough 'scarcity' to be able to expect their own dowry. Of course, now just about anybody who has an unmarried daughter and wishes to make a quick buck could just send her off to the 'highest bidder' of sorts, which is why a dowry given to a bride is increasingly known as a 'bride price'.

Now, back to James' marriage; the speed of which James met and married his first wife are very suspicious. On April 11, 2021 we see that James is totally alone and single. All of a sudden on April 19, 2021, he miraculously found a new girlfriend and is already poised to marry her in as little as a few weeks. While it's true that James and his mother are eager to marry someone as quickly as possible, it seems extremely unlikely that after years and years of failed dates and loneliness would James get a girlfriend and marry her so rapidly.

With all things considered, the timeline likely happened as follows: the ex-wife is in her late 30's and isn't married, or at the very least has not given birth. The father-in-law, desperately wanting a grandson, decides to put an offer out there for someone to marry his daughter. We know the father-in-law wanted a grandson because of how much he fought to be able to name Charles Peter once he was born. The ex-wife probably did not object against this as we know she has very little chances of finding any 'true love' due to her old age. James' mother somehow got into contact with the family and promptly told James to marry her, which probably didn't take too much convincing because he's been wanting to get married his whole life. Of course, everyone involved in this marriage would soon deeply regret it, but you can read more on that here.

## Verdict

The final verdict? **Probably**. Although calling it a 'contract' is a little misleading. James' mother might have just paid someone so their almost-as-undateable daughter would marry him without any official arrangement. But talk about a raw deal. That father-in-law had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself into when he sent his daughter to marry an unemployed slop jockey likes James. However, the father-in-law didn't totally lose. He got to name a grandson of his own and $10k out of James' parents' retirement fund. James himself, however, had absolutely everything to lose from the divorce, later admitting he did not even like the girl his mom picked out for him.

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/JamesCageWhite/status/1518088272429297664
2. ↑ https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/in-china-men-pay-rising-dowries-as-bride-prices-surge/article66525762.ece
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/JamesCageWhite/status/1384160311544926211
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/JamesCageWhite/status/1627451989792821249