HOUSTON, Tex. (CNN/KHOU) -- A Texas woman says a friend duped her into being a surrogate mother. She says she and a male friend agreed to raise the two twins she recently delivered together. But, she says after the children were born, her friend claimed she was just acting as a surrogate for he and his partner.
Cindy Close says, "It's what I wanted. I've always wanted to be a mom." And this summer, the 48-year-old thought she finally had her chance when gave birth to twins at Texas Children's Medical Center. She says, "And, later that evening, the hospital social worker came to visit me and told me that we have a surrogacy situation and I looked at her and said 'I'm not a surrogate, what are you talking about?'"
Close said that she had been duped by Marvin McMurrey, a man who she said had pretended to be her friend and promised to be her partner. He had paid for her in vitro fertilization using his sperm and a donor egg. And when the children were born, claimed custody with his partner.
Close said she never even knew he was gay. The reporter asks, "There was never money exchanged? There was never a contract?" Close responds, "No. There was never any contract at all. Never. And no money. He didn't pay me for this. We didn't set every detail down because it was based on trust."
The twins had been born prematurely and spent weeks at the hospital. And it was during that time this suit was filed, challenging the mother-child relationship.
Since close wasn't linked to the children genetically, it alleged they were not hers. All she has now are visitation rights for two hours a day, six days a week. Close says, "They have nanny cams up. I'm not allowed to use my phone. I'm not allowed to take pictures of my children, stuff like that. "I'm not allowed to close the door."
Local news station K-H-O-U reports it tried to contact McMurrey's attorney for comment but those calls were not returned