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His Sperm, Her Child — But Not Her Egg. 'The View' Host Could Face Bizarre Child Custody Battle Over Unborn Baby
This undated photo released by ABC shows, from left, Bill Rancic, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters, Jenny McCarthy, and Whoopi Goldberg, on "The View," which airs Monday-Friday (11:00 am-12:00 pm, ET) on the ABC Television Network. Shepherd says she's leaving ABC's daytime talk show "The View" after seven years. In a statement Thursday, June 26, 2014, Shepherd says that after "careful consideration" she has decided it's time to move on. (AP Photo/ABC, Lou Rocco) AP Photo/ABC, Lou Rocco

His Sperm, Her Child — But Not Her Egg. 'The View' Host Could Face Bizarre Child Custody Battle Over Unborn Baby

Child custody battles are nothing new, and stories of deadbeat dads who don't want to pay child support — especially if they claim the child isn't really theirs — seem to be as old as divorce itself.

But what if the parent who doesn't want to pay child support is the mom — and she's able to rightly claim the baby isn't hers?

Such is the bizarre case facing Sherri Shepherd, one of the many co-hosts of "The View," and her estranged husband Lamar Sally, TMZ is reporting.

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, Sherri Shepherd and Lamar Sally arrive before the 84th Academy Awards in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Court records show Sally filed for legal separation from Shepherd in Los Angeles on May 2, 2014, citing irreconcilable differences and custody of the pair’s unborn child. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

Apparently, the couple had attempted to become pregnant through in-vitro fertilization, but the procedure didn't work for the 47-year-old Shepherd, so they turned to a different fertility option: a surrogate mother.

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 25: Sherri Shepherd attends 'Meet The Cast' at Apple Store Soho on June 25, 2014 in New York City. (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

A baby was conceived using Sally's sperm but not, apparently, Shepherd's egg.

The baby is due later this month, TMZ reported, and as divorce proceedings get underway, Shepherd is claiming that Sally defrauded her.

The surrogate mother signed a contract with both Sally and Shepherd, TMZ reported, but Shepherd is trying to back out, saying that Sally was merely trying to milk child support payments out of her.

TMZ also noted that Shepherd filed for divorce in New Jersey, where courts typically do not reocgnize surrogacy agreements, while Sally filed for divorce in California, where the opposite tends to be true.

As the Daily Mail noted, TMZ has previously made claims about Shepherd and Sally's marriage that Shepherd later denied.

This undated photo released by ABC shows, from left, Bill Rancic, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters, Jenny McCarthy, and Whoopi Goldberg, on "The View," which airs Monday-Friday (11:00 am-12:00 pm, ET) on the ABC Television Network. Shepherd says she's leaving ABC's daytime talk show "The View" after seven years. In a statement Thursday, June 26, 2014, Shepherd says that after "careful consideration" she has decided it's time to move on. (AP Photo/ABC, Lou Rocco)

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