MONTREAL — A man who believed for months that he was going to be the father of quintuplets instead found out in hospital his girlfriend was never pregnant.

Delivery day came and went on Wednesday and only then did Paul Servat, 35, realize Barbara Bienvenue, 37, wasn't with children.

A disappointed and tearful father recounted his dashed dreams to QMI Agency at his home south of Montreal, in the baby room filled with five colourfully adorned cribs that lie empty.

"She let me choose the names," Servat, 35, said between sobs, surrounded by donated gifts for the five fictitious babies.

"I lost everything, it was my whole life."

Servat said Bienvenue's baby story lasted 34 weeks, after she had surprised her new beau in September with news that she was expecting.

"We were so happy," Servat said. "Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren."

As weeks passed Bienvenue told Servat she was expecting twins, then triplets, then quadruplets and finally the stunning news that there were five babies in her belly.

Paul Servat believed for months that he would become the father of quintuplets but discovered on delivery day that his girlfriend wasn't pregnant. (CAMILLE LAURIN-DESJARDINS/QMI AGENCY)

On Wednesday, Servat took Bienvenue to a hospital where staff told him they had no file for the pregnancy. A nurse finally took Servat aside to show him the results of blood tests.

"She told me she was not pregnant," he said.

At first he didn't want to believe it.

"The doctors told me it was a phantom pregnancy," said Servat, who added doctors have kept Bienvenue under psychiatric observation.

He said Bienvenue was so convinced she was pregnant that her belly swelled, she began lactating and even had morning sickness.

The couple, who met online last summer, had amassed a motherlode of gifts after a friend created a Facebook page to help them.

"I'll return all these things to people who sent them or give them (away)," Servat said.

"I'm a good person and I have nothing to do with these lies."

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False pregnancy (Pseudocyesis)

Pseudocyesis is the false belief that one is pregnant.

Sufferers can exhibit all of the symptoms of pregnancy, but with no baby.

Symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even several years.

Psychological support, including therapy, is recommended.

Male partners of women with pseudocyesis can suffer a related "sympathetic pregnancy" syndrome in which they exhibit weight gain, nausea, and backache.

Source: WebMD.com