It’s All Just Part of Thai Culture - Men Having a Second Wife.
There is a common Thai practice that visitors to Thailand will not see. Once you have lived here for a while and made friends with Thai people on a personal level, you may discover this most shocking custom of marital relationships. This is the practice of men having a Mia Noi, which translates to “Little Wife”, but more accurately refers to “Second Minor Wife”. This practice has been around for hundreds of years in the Kingdom, and the practice is alive and well today. It is practiced by most wealthy Thai men, and by a huge percentage of not-so-wealthy men. Support for a Mia Noi may well include a separate residence, a car, spending money, the whole nine yards, and often children with the minor wife that also are fully supported. If many people know about the lady, she is considered a Mia Noi. If the lady is a closely guarded secret, she is considered a girlfriend, or Gik (pronounced as geek).