The woman who served as Sherri Shepherd and Larry Sally’s surrogate says their bitter breakup has resulted in her
being sought for child support payments.
I know—your response right now is “WHAT?” This is absolutely baffling but according to Jessica Bartholomew, this is indeed what she’s being forced to go through. In 2013, Sheperd announced that she and her husband Sally were going using a surrogate to have a new baby. Bartholomew, a waitress from California, was the surrogate who was chosen.
Shepherd reportedly wanted to use her egg and Sally’s sperm, but according to TMZ, the baby was conceived without her egg. Then, before the birth of the baby in August, Sally and Shepherd split. Their divorce proceedings have been absolutely vicious, even by Hollywood divorce standards. One of the biggest revelations was that Shepherd backed out of the surrogate agreement altogether, claiming Sally was using the surrogate baby as a way to get money out of her in the form of child support. Sally, who has had custody of the baby since he was born, has since sued his ex for alimony and child support.
So where does that leave Bartholomew? According to an interview she gave to Inside Edition (via Madame Noire) she is now being pursued for child support.
Bartholomew explains that although she was connected with the couple through a surrogate agency, she is listed on the child’s birth certificate as a “noncustodial parent.” Because of this, she says that she is also being pursued for child support. Apparently, Sally applied for Medi-Cal, which is a state program that provides free or low-cost health insurance, to assist with medical costs relating to a health condition plaguing the infant. This resulted in the state of California going after Bartholomew for child support.
Bartholomew, who was paid about $30,000 to serve as the surrogate, puts the blame squarely on Shepherd for backing out of the surrogacy agreement:
“I could not believe this is happening. When I decided to do this for them, I didn’t think ever that this could happen. I just don’t understand how she could do that and act like this baby is non-existent. It just blows my mind….I’m angry at Sherri because she never once contacted me to tell me what was happening. She would call and check up on me during the pregnancy in the beginning. At the 20 week appointment she seemed so excited.”
Watch a clip of Bartholomew’s interview below
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