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The feeling’s still strong, but the engagement ring’s gone.
A prominent Houston surgeon, scorned by his fiancée who broke off their engagement, has filed a lawsuit demanding the $73,000 ring back.
Dr. Craig Fischer, chief of digestive surgical oncology and associate professor of surgery at Methodist Hospital, says he bought the 4.06-carat ring from Zadok’s Jewelers in Houston on Aug. 8.
Fischer also wants his former fiancée, Nichole Johnson, to pay back $75,000 from a shared bank account and apartment lease, according to the lawsuit filed this week in Harris County.
The suit claims Johnson never intended to marry Fischer and used the relationship only as a means to get to the doctor’s money.
Despite all the accusations, Fischer said he still cares for the woman he met this spring through mutual friends.
“I’ve been in love with her for a long time,” said Fischer, 45, who is president of the Houston Surgical Society. “I still am, and I’m deeply hurt. This is tough because I really do love her.”
Not her ‘sugar daddy’
Fischer dismisses any suggestion that his former flame is a con artist.
“She is gainfully employed,” he noted. “She’s got a great job and makes a lot of money. It should not appear that I’m her ‘sugar daddy.’ She’s my equal in every way.”
“Our relationship has been one of joy and happiness amongst our mutual families and friends,” who hosted a Sept. 10 engagement party for the couple, Fischer said. Johnson broke off the engagement two days later, he said.
Johnson, an account executive for a financial services company in Houston, declined to comment about the lawsuit.
Fischer is seeking the return of $50,000 for a lease he signed for an apartment the two were to share. He also wants his ex to pay back $25,000 that he had deposited in a joint checking account.
The lawsuit describes the funds as a gift “in contemplation of the parties’ marriage.”
It further alleges that Johnson cheated on Fischer, withdrew most of the funds in their bank account and has absconded with the ring and wedding funds.
Further, the lawsuit seeks to prohibit Johnson from making false and defamatory statements against Fischer online.
Johnson has falsely accused Fischer of stalking her and has used social media, including Facebook, to engage in a smear campaign against him, the lawsuit states.
Concern for reputation
“(Johnson) has publicized false statements to thousands of Facebook ‘friends’ in order to defame (Fischer) in front of his colleagues in the medical profession and to destroy his stellar reputation in the medical community,” the lawsuit states.
The relationship may not have the happy ending he wanted, but Fischer believes the lawsuit will end on a positive note.
“I’m sure that there will be an amicable resolution to this soon,” he said.
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