Breaking up is hard to do, according to Neil Sedaka. But a Surrey, B.C., man hoped that recovering a $227,920 engagement ring would be a lot easier after his May/December romance fell apart.
Jerry John Renkers claimed in a British Columbia Supreme Court lawsuit — filed on Valentine’s Day, no less — that he bought a 3.42 carat yellow diamond ring in the Soleste setting from Tiffany and Co. in Vancouver for Jessica Mae Miller and gave it to her on Jan. 30, the anniversary of their first date.
Renkers is a 65-year-old retiree. Miller is a 31-year-old University of British Columbia student. He claimed she reminded him of his late wife Sharon, who died Oct. 7, 2012 after 25 years of marriage.
“My wife’s passing was very hard on me,” said Renkers in an affidavit. “I believed that if I started dating again it would help me move on with my life.”
Renkers and Miller met in 2013 after finding each other on the Cyprus-based Established Men dating website, which purports to connect “ambitious and attractive girls with successful and generous benefactors to fulfill their lifestyle needs.” That is a long way of saying “sugar daddy.”
Renkers claimed in the court documents that he bought Miller a Volkswagen ($37,940), paid her student loan ($20,779.23), dental bills ($12,000), back taxes ($11,161.92), tuition ($2,000), more than $2,100 in credit card bills and $2,000-a-month for rent and incidentals for a Kitsilano apartment.
“(Miller’s) spending was taking a toll on me,” said Renkers in an affidavit. “I reached my breaking point when I learned that the defendant purchased a laptop and a bike for her brother.”
They broke up Feb. 6. He claimed his bid to reconcile failed Feb. 9 and she refused to return the ring. So he filed the court action.
“Given that the defendant no longer has my financial support, I am very afraid that she will try to dispose of the engagement ring for cash given its extremely high value,” said the affidavit.
Renkers maintains the law is on his side. “The parties entered into a contract to marry. The parties did not get married and the contract has been terminated. The parties should be restored to their pre-contract positions.”
None of the allegations has been proven in court and Miller has yet to reply.
UPDATE (Feb. 18, 6:02 p.m.): Renkers’ lawyer Sonia Kainth told me late this afternoon that a notice of discontinuance was filed on Feb. 17. But did Renkers fulfill his quest for the return of the ring?
“We have no further comment regarding this matter,” Kainth said via email.