From ‘I Do’ to ‘I Sue’: Man Sues Ex-Fiancée after She Calls off Wedding

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How much does it cost to mend a broken heart? According to one Manhattan executive, about $61,000.

After his fiancée called off their upcoming wedding in April, Steven Silverstein decided to make his own plans for the future — by suing his ex, Kendra Platt-Lee, to recover wedding costs and unpaid living expenses.

According to Silverstein, Platt-Lee called him while visiting California to tell him that she wanted to cancel their wedding. That same day, he claims, she withdrew more than $54,000 from their joint checking account, which they opened together to pay for rent and living expenses. She remained in San Diego, where she lives today.

(MORE: Calling It Off)

Silverstein claims that over $19,000 of the money that Platt-Lee took was his, so he filed a claim in Manhattan Supreme Court to get it back, along with $28,000 in rent and half of the deposits that were already paid for their September nuptials, totaling $13,500.

The couple has been together for more than four years, but it hasn’t always been a lover’s paradise. According to the New York Post, they lived together from August 2009 to February 2010 when Platt-Lee broke up with Silverstein. They rekindled their relationship about a year later and got engaged in June 2011.

Platt-Lee told Today that she doesn’t believe she owes Silverstein anything, saying that it was his idea to host an elaborate wedding in the first place. “I can understand why he’s emotional about it,” she said. “We started planning a wedding, and it was really over the top. It was nothing that I wanted, nothing that I could ever afford by myself.”

Platt-Lee did return the engagement ring to Silverstein when she visited earlier this month, which was reportedly worth more than $32,000. Now it’s up for the court to decide if that’s enough.

MORE: In the Brain, Broken Hearts Hurt Like Broken Bones