In a surprising twist of family dynamics, a 70-year-old retired pilot finds himself yearning for some solitude after a series of unexpected events involving his wife. The saga began when his wife, aged 62, became pregnant with their 13th child without his knowledge. As if that wasn’t enough, she allegedly went on to have two additional children via a surrogate, raising serious questions about consent and transparency.

Bob Lewis, the man at the center of this unfolding drama, has taken to constructing a wooden ‘man cave’ on the sprawling seven-acre estate surrounding his lavish $1 million mansion in Elma, New York. This personal retreat seems to be Bob’s way of carving out some peace amid the chaos that has engulfed his personal life.

When approached by the Daily Mail to discuss the situation, Bob was found diligently working on his sanctuary. Upon hearing the reporter’s inquiry about his wife, MaryBeth Lewis, he responded with a simple, “What do you want, honey?”

His brevity continued when the conversation shifted to the legal troubles entangling his wife. Bob made it clear he was “not interested” in discussing the ongoing felony case against MaryBeth, which involves allegations of her forging his signature on surrogacy documents earlier this year.

MaryBeth now faces charges for allegedly impersonating Bob during a virtual court session to approve a $160,000 surrogacy arrangement. This legal battle adds another layer of complexity to the already convoluted family dynamics, leaving Bob seemingly focused on creating a haven of quiet in his newly constructed retreat.

MaryBeth is charged with faking Bob’s appearance at a virtual court hearing to rubber stamp the $160,000 surrogacy. 

She shot to notoriety last week after The New York Times revealed her obsession with having babies throughout her 50s and early 60s. 

MaryBeth had two donor embryos implanted without telling Lewis in 2019, the paper reported. She announced her pregnancy on Easter Sunday 2019 and a baby girl arrived the following year, angering some of her adult children. 

Bob Lewis is building himself a haven from his enormous family after his wife MaryBeth Lewis was charged with lying to get a surrogate to bear her twins at the age of 68 

Bob’s man cave is seen outside his enormous $1 million mansion which sits in Upstate New York

Further drama was to follow with the 2023 surrogacy arrangement which saw twins – a boy and a girl – born that November using donor embryos.

MaryBeth signed her husband’s name on the papers without his knowledge and created a blank Zoom profile for a virtual court hearing to rubberstamp the process, The Times reported. 

She set up a post office box to keep the surrogacy papers out of Lewis’s sight, reportedly knowing he was against her having anymore children.

Her deception was blown apart eight months into the pregnancy when the judge’s order granting her the surrogacy arrived at their home, it was claimed.

Lewis was said to be outraged and reported his wife’s alleged lies to the authorities. He later forgave her and agreed to co-parent the twins.

But it was too late.

The twins were taken into foster care shortly after they were born and have thrived there for the last three years with a couple in their 30s who want to adopt them.  

MaryBeth denies the charges she faces. 

Bob and MaryBeth pictured with seven young members of their family. MaryBeth gave birth to a girl in 2020 when she was 62 and is then accused of secretly arranging for a further pregnancy with a surrogate three years later 

MaryBeth told the Daily Mail that she is the victim of a corrupt court system and that she is determined to get the children born to the surrogate back 

During an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail on Saturday, MaryBeth raged about her portrayal in The Times – despite agreeing to their interview.

‘It did not make me look good, she said. ‘I have children out there and I want them back.

‘They’ve been taken illegally. They were basically kidnapped from DCS (Department of Child Services).’

Asked about the criminal charges she’s facing, MaryBeth said: ‘They’re all ridiculous.’

MaryBeth went on to insist she is a victim of a corrupt legal system – and even suggested her court battle could help other parents in the future.

‘I am very distraught with how people are going to think what a terrible person I am. I’m not. I’m trying to save my children,’ MaryBeth said.

‘It’s not easy but I like to fight to get the right thing done. It is not right. I want to help other people.’

MaryBeth says she has never seen the twins born via surrogate and that she does not know their names. She says she will change them if she regains custody. 

She said she has seen the children’s foster parents at court hearings but has never spoken to them. 

Bob and MaryBeth’s huge mansion. Bob is a retired FedEx pilot, MaryBeth a nurse 

They cannot be named for legal reasons and are barred from speaking out. 

Last month, a judge ruled MaryBeth and Lewis were the rightful parents of the twins. He ordered them to be returned to their custody. 

Then lawyers for the foster parents applied to an appellate court for a stay, delaying their possible return to MaryBeth. 

MaryBeth and Lewis are wealthy, with the couple having a $2million 401(k), The Times reported.

But MaryBeth has raided the latter to the tune of $500,000 to pay to try to get her twins back, landing her with sizable tax liabilities, it is claimed.

On Friday, the Daily Mail watched as MaryBeth appeared before Steuben County Court in upstate New York for a procedural hearing over the 30 charges she faces including felony kidnapping, forgery and perjury.

She was flanked by two female minders who could be heard whispering ‘You are going to be okay’ to MaryBeth.

MaryBeth turned down a plea deal which would have seen her admit a felony in return for probation and is due to stand trial next March. 

MaryBeth says she plans to change the youngest children’s names if she regains custody of them. They have been living with a foster family since they were born in 2022, with their  thirtysomething foster parents desperate to adopt them 

MaryBeth’s lawyers Rhian D. Jones and Sarah E. Wesley believe there are fatal flaws in both the criminal case against MaryBeth and the ongoing wrangle over the twins’ custody. 

Melissa Brisman, an attorney who’d worked with her on the surrogacy arrangement is said to have violated attorney-client privilege by tipping off a judge to MaryBeth’s alleged lies. 

Brisman denies that allegation, but Wesley now believes using that tip-off to get an order banning MaryBeth from seeing the twins was legally unsound. 

MaryBeth told the Daily Mail she believes those blunders could soon see the two youngest children returned to her care. 

‘I am feeling hopeful because more illegal stuff is being brought out with the courts of all the corruptness that they’ve done,’ she said.

Insisting that she is the victim in the surrogacy saga, MaryBeth added: ‘All I know is that what they’ve done to me is terrible against me, and it was said in the very beginning, it was against me, and it’s coming out more and more, and that’s why they did what they did.’

Asked about the vast sums of money she has splurged on the case, MaryBeth said: ‘Yes, I have some extra money, but we worked hard, hard, hard for this, and if I didn’t, this would have been over a long time ago, and somebody else would have kept my children.

‘People are against it. Some people don’t even want children or only want one child. We’ve always wanted a lot of children.’ 

MaryBeth and Bob are pictured together in happier times. Bob is said to be the one who reported MaryBeth’s alleged deceit with the surrogacy to authorities. He subsequently vowed to support his wife, but criminal and family court proceedings continue 

MaryBeth’s demeanor changed when asked by the Daily Mail about the claims she had forged Lewis’s signature and pretended to be him at a court hearing.

She began revving her car and started to drive it away with one of the doors still open without answering our question. 

There was one glimmer of hope for father-of-15 Lewis, though. 

Asked moments before if she wanted to have any more children once the ongoing debacle is resolved, MaryBeth snapped: ‘I don’t think so. Not with all this c*** that has happened.’