A housewife in Spain received divorce compensation for 25 years of domestic work, Insider reports.

HouseworkPhoto: Viktor Cap / Panthermedia / Profimedia Images

A court in Vélez-Málaga, a city in southern Spain, ruled that Ivana Moral’s ex-husband must pay her €204,624.86 in compensation for domestic work performed during their marriage.

The court effectively ruled that the 48-year-old woman should retroactively receive from her husband the equivalent of the minimum wage in Spain for all the years of their marriage.

The husband will also have to pay her monthly alimony of 500 euros after the divorce in 2020.

The court motivated its decision by the fact that the woman was exclusively engaged in all household chores, as well as contributed “on time” to the family business – a fitness center, reports Euronews.

In the reasoning of the decision, it is also stated that the woman has the right to compensation, because “due to her exceptional devotion to the home and family, she was deprived of any career opportunity.”

How a man amassed a fortune separate from that of a Spanish woman

The judge in the case also found that, using the proceeds from the gym business, the woman’s husband had exponentially increased his assets during the marriage, buying a Porsche, a Range Rover, a BMV, motorcycles and an olive grove.

The Spanish newspaper NIUS notes that the olive grove brings the man 4,000 euros every month.

The situation was possible because, when they married in 1995, Moral agreed to sign a property division agreement, which stipulated that the husband would share the house and joint property with her, but he would have the right to keep his property.

After the divorce was announced, Moral initially received half of the house, but without monetary compensation.

Marta Fuentes, the woman’s lawyer, told NIUS that the decision is now a victory for women who work “in the shadow” of their husbands.

“So that he could see his career, Moral stayed at home to take care of the children (…) She was his shadow, she worked behind his back so that he could grow professionally and become someone,” she also stated.