Courtney Stodden faked her pregnancy and miscarriage for money, her ex-husband has claimed.
The blonde beauty announced she was expecting her first child in 2016 and then tragically revealed a few months later she had lost the baby but Doug Hutchison has alleged she was lying as she thought it would attract attention and boost the chances of landing paid-for interviews and a potential reality show.
The 'Green Mile' actor - whose divorce from the 'Celebrity Big Brother' star was finalised last month, two years after they split - feels "ashamed" that he went along with the ploy, which he revealed in his new book, 'Flushing Hollywood: Fake News and Fake Boobs'.
He told Fox News: "I'm not proud to admit this, but again, this book is about the truth... I don't justify it in my book. I'm actually ashamed that we did it.
"I think that in some ways it was immoral. It was very unfair to those people out there who sincerely suffered from miscarriages. But at that point in time, we were completely broke."
The 59-year-old star claimed the pair were desperate for cash as he was blacklisted by Hollywood over the 34-year age gap between himself and Courtney, who was just 16 when they tied the knot, so she came up with the "strategy" out of "desperation".
He said: "I'm not trying to blame her, but it was her idea... She wanted to convince the public that she was pregnant so we can get paid for interviews and possibly a reality show
"It was all about survival. It was all about a way to make rent, to pay the bills. It was desperation. I was an accomplice. I felt at the time there was no other choice in order to survive... We didn't think about the consequences, the future."
And the actor found it "devastating" when Courtney announced her miscarriage and was flooded with messages of support from women who had gone through similar experiences.
He added: "Here we were going to the press, going to our families, our friends and announcing we lost our baby. We gained a lot of empathy.
"And the sad part is a lot of women came forward on social media saying how sorry they were because they went through the same thing. The press bought it, the public bought it, the family bought it -- everybody bought it...
"I don't want to speak for Courtney, but I almost feel she became a poster celebrity and was able to give those people comfort. I know that sounds twisted, but that was the mindset."
Doug claimed he wasn't expecting such a backlash over their relationship, though he knew it would cause something of a stir.
He said: "She was 16 and I was 50, so I knew our union was going to turn heads, but I didn't realise the impact it would truly have.
"I didn't realise that in marrying Courtney, my manager would drop me, my agent would drop me. I was blacklisted. I was blackballed from casting directors."