Inside shocking scandal where Prada model mum ‘asked surrogate to ABORT her 2 babies at 7 months’ then ‘abandoned them’
A PRADA model has been accused of abandoning her two children born via surrogacy.
Chinese actress and model Zheng Shuang, 33, reportedly "asked her surrogates to abort her two babies at seven months" in 2019.
After shooting to fame in her home country for starring in Meteor Shower, Zheng enjoyed a successful career.
She was even photographed in a Prada ad campaign but became the brand's shortest lived ambassador after she was dropped just nine days after the shoot.
While the Italian fashion house cited "significant recent media coverage of her personal life" as the reason, Zheng's ex-partner Zhang Heng, a celebrity producer, has spoken openly about the scandal.
The pair, who married in the US in 2019, opted to become parents via surrogacy, a practice which is illegal in China.
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However, things are said to have taken a turn after the nuptials and Zheng is now accused of demanding the surrogates terminate the pregnancies in a phone call, reports the .
The future of the children, a baby boy born on December 19, 2019 and a baby girl born on January 4, 2020, was said to be discussed by the two families following the couple's split.
Zheng, whose name and birth date is listed on both birth certificates as obtained by Chinese news outlets, is said to have considered forcing both the surrogates to abort the fetuses at seven months.
The Daily Mail have published the alleged phone conversation between the two families, which is said to have been secretly recorded.
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During the call, they reported that Zheng's father suggested abandoning the two children at the hospital.
However, Zhang's father branded this action as illegal and now Zhang alleges that his former partner has abandoned their children two years on from their split.
He claimed that she is refusing to signs papers which would allow the US-based children to travel to China.
Zhang also took to the Chinese social media platform Weibo to explain his "helpless" situation.
According to the , the producer said he has remained in the US to care for his children, who he described as "two young and innocent lives."
Zheng has denied these claims, accusing her former partner of cheating on her before returning to China.
Zhang remained in Denver with his parents to raise both the children.
What is surrogacy?
Surrogacy is the name given for a type of pregnancy where a woman carries and gives birth to another person's baby.
The surrogate mother is then expected to give up the baby at birth, so it can be raised by the couple who originally wanted the baby.
Surrogacy is often an option for those unable to have children themselves, or for same sex couples.
According to surrogacy charity , there are two different types of surrogacy.
- Traditional surrogacy: When the surrogate uses her own egg fertilised with the intended father's sperm.
- Gestational surrogacy: The surrogate carries the intended parent's genetic child conceived through IVF, for which specialist doctors are needed.
How are surrogate babies conceived?
In traditional surrogacy procedures, the egg is artificially inseminated using a syringe.
Gestational surrogacy is carried out through IVF.
During this in vitro fertilisation process, the egg is removed from the woman’s ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.
The embryo is then planted in the surrogate’s womb to grow and develop.
This procedure must be carried out by specialist doctors and the biological mother is required to still have working ovaries.
The actress referred to her family situation as "a very sad and private matter for me" and accused her former partner of attempting to extort her.
In 2020, she filed for custodianship of the children and was also faced with a bill of $68,000 (£54,825) from the fertility clinic which arranged the surrogacies.
This clinic also confirmed Zheng's request to terminate both pregnancies at the seven month mark, which was denied.
According to the clinic, the actress also wanted to arrange monthly payments to have the children raised in the US rather than China.
These claims were mentioned in Denver County Court alongside an allegation from Zhang that his former partner had abused their children.
"The past six months both of my children got injured really bad when they stay with my ex-girlfriend's," he told .
He explained that his daughter needed stitches on one of her fingers while his son appeared to have suffered a burn under his nose.
He claimed that Zheng's account of the injuries had been inconsistent and added that his children appeared to be afraid of her.
"My son was so struggling, ''No, don't go dad. Let's go home. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of mom'' and crying,'" Zhang said.
"That is why I called child protective service because he told me mama did it."
However, he claims that Child Protective Services in Colorado failed to investigate the claims.
Zheng denied her these claims through a statement issued by her attorneys, Martha Timmers and Madeleine Rosengrants of Sherman & Howard.
"Shuang Zheng unequivocally denies she has ever abused or neglected her children," the statement read.
The actress is also facing charges of tax evasion and has been listed among "actors with poor conduct" by Chinese state regulators and is now blacklisted from the country's entertainment industry.
In May 2021, Zhang won custody of the two children, posting on Weibo that he was granted "parenting solo decision-making authority" while Zheng was granted visitation rights, according to .
"My hands are shaking with excitement, as this may be the only good news for me after more than one year of suffering," he wrote in the social media post.
Meanwhile, Zheng is said to be living in financial turmoil and has been ordered to the equivalent of £13.26 million to the 'Secret Keepers' crew and a further £10million to the 'Jade Lover' crew, according to .
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The Vietnamese outlet also claimed that in April 2024, legal documents disclosed by Tianyancha, a business data and investigation platform, declared Zheng bankrupt.
This has instigated speculation online about whether she had repositioned assets to evade repayment.
