North Carolina Adultery Laws: Divorce, Alimony, and Homewrecker Lawsuits

Understand how cheating impacts alimony, child custody, and your right to sue a spouse's affair partner.

By , Attorney UC Law San Francisco
Updated 12/19/2025

North Carolina is an exclusively "no-fault" divorce state, but adultery is still relevant for other legal actions. For example, adultery is a fault-based ground for what's known in North Carolina as a "divorce from bed and board" (DBB). Despite the confusing name, a DBB is not a final divorce but a court-ordered legal separation.

North Carolina is also one of the few states where adultery is a tort. In other words, it's possible to sue your spouse's affair partner for "alienation of affection" or "criminal conversation."

As noted, while North Carolina is a no-fault state for divorce, adultery is a fault-based ground for a DBB or legal separation. With a DBB, you can achieve almost every outcome of a divorce without actually ending the marriage, including:

Only a non-cheating spouse can file for a DBB in North Carolina. The non-cheating spouse has to prove by a preponderance of the evidence (a more likely than not standard) that the spouse and the spouse's affair partner had the inclination (desire) and opportunity to engage in sexual relations. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-7(6) (2025).)

People often file for a DBB instead of divorce when their spouse refuses to leave or cooperate. Unlike divorce in North Carolina, which requires a one-year waiting period, you can file for a DBB right away. After you've been separated for a year, you can file for a divorce to legally end the marriage.

Civil Lawsuits: Criminal Conversation and Alienation of Affection

North Carolina is one of the few states that allows non-cheating spouses to file civil lawsuits against their spouse's affair partner (the "defendant"). Through these so-called "homewrecker" lawsuits, the non-cheating spouse can ask a judge or jury to order the affair partner to pay them compensatory damages (money) for loss of consortium (marital affection), mental anguish, and humiliation. Punitive damages can be awarded to punish defendants for especially egregious behavior.

Here's a breakdown of the two potential causes of action a non-cheating spouse can file in these types of cases: criminal conversation and alienation of affection.

What Is Criminal Conversation?

Despite the name, "criminal conversation" isn't a crime. It's a civil lawsuit for money that requires a non-cheating spouse to sue the person their spouse had an affair with. To win, the non-cheating spouse has to prove:

  • they were legally married
  • their spouse had sexual intercourse with the defendant (the affair partner), and
  • the sex happened during the marriage.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-13 (2025).)

People sometimes hire private investigators to collect evidence of the cheating or use photos, text messages, or videos from their spouse's phone. You have three years from the last "wrongful act" to file a criminal conversation lawsuit in North Carolina. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(5) (2025).)

What Is Alienation of Affection?

Alienation of affection is more about the emotional damage caused by an affair. To prove alienation of affection, a non-cheating spouse must prove:

  • they had a happy and loving marriage
  • the love and affection were destroyed, and
  • the affair partner's actions were the main cause of the destruction.

Unlike criminal conversation, the non-cheating spouse doesn't have to prove that sexual intercourse took place, only that the affair partner's actions caused alienation and led to the end of the marriage. As with criminal conversation, you have three years from the "wrongful act" to file an alienation of affection lawsuit in North Carolina. Both criminal conversation and alienation of affection lawsuits are often filed together to cover the sexual and emotional damage caused by an affair.

How Adultery Affects Divorce in North Carolina

In North Carolina, adultery can have an impact on divorce.

Alimony

In North Carolina, a spouse who receives alimony is called a "dependent spouse," and a spouse who pays is called the "supporting spouse." But judges must consider either spouse's marital misconduct when ordering alimony. If the court finds that a dependent spouse cheated during the marriage, that spouse is barred from receiving alimony. If the supporting spouse cheated, that spouse must pay alimony to the dependent spouse.

In North Carolina, courts may consider either spouse's marital misconduct, including adultery, when deciding how much alimony to award. In addition, this may be a factor courts consider when making decisions about child custody.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-16.3A (2025).)

Child Custody

A parent who cheats can still be awarded custody. However, a court will consider any marital misconduct that negatively affects the child's well-being, such as neglecting the child to spend time with the affair partner.

Division of Property

North Carolina is an equitable distribution state. An affair is generally irrelevant to property division unless the cheating spouse engaged in "marital waste," such as spending thousands of dollars on expensive hotels and gifts for their lover. Then a judge might award the non-cheating spouse a larger share of the remaining property to make up for the loss.

North Carolina divorce laws are complex and emotions tend to run high in cases involving allegations of infidelity. If you suspect your spouse has cheated, or if you've been accused of an affair, consult with a divorce lawyer if possible. A lawyer can explain what rights you have and how adultery allegations might complicate issues like property division and alimony.

If you would like to file a civil lawsuit against your spouse's affair partner, a divorce lawyer might be able to help you or refer you to a personal injury lawyer who can.