We definitely think that everyone should be in a long-term relationship because they love their partner. However, we’re not naive to think that things like financial stability don’t matter. Money, drive, and ambition are important… but they can’t be the only reasons you tie the knot with somebody. It can lead to a lot of misery down the road. Though in some cases, the story can take an unexpected turn (with a few twists in between).
To see what marrying for money is really like, Bored Panda went digging for gold all over Reddit. And today we’re bringing you a whole host of candid stories where people share what marrying just for money is really like and what it leads to. Check out the stories below and share the list with your single and married friends to see what they think, too.
When you’re done reading, we’d love to hear about your relationships, Pandas. Has money ever come between you and your partner? Would you ever consider marrying someone just for their Scrooge McDuck-sized swimming pool full of money? What’s the love-to-cash ratio that you think is reasonable? You can share your thoughts in the comments.
Bored Panda reached out to financial expert Sam Dogen to have a chat about marrying for money, financial stability, and how to tell if someone might be with you just because you're rich. Sam is the author of 'Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom' (out July 19) and the founder of the Financial Samurai blog. Read on for the full interview and to learn why marrying your equal is better than marrying rich.
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One of my friends got married to her best friend, who happens to be gay in the military. She gets to live in her hometown in Japan, with free insurance and free place to stay/utilities. He gets about 3-4 grand more a month because of spouse benefits and rent benefits. All she does is household chores, and makes meals for them. I say that their "marriage" is a perfect union. They don't plan on divorcing, and if she ever wants a baby, he's more than willing to donate his sperm to the cause. Both are late 20s.
"Financial stability is hugely important when it comes to having a successful long-term relationship. Both partners need to be on the same page financially, which means being open about existing financial issues before entering into a committed relationship. Issues such as how much debt one has, a low credit score, prior judgments, and bankruptcies must all be laid out on the table. It's best not to have financial surprises!" financial expert Sam stressed to Bored Panda that total honesty in this area is vital for the sake of a successful relationship.
"Once you know your respective financial baselines, then you can come up with a financial game plan. Given money is often a top-three reason why relationships fall apart, having financial stability is important," he said. "I'll take it a step further and suggest that if you truly love your partner, you are willing to make them financially independent as well. In other words, make your partner wealthy enough that they can survive just fine on their own."
My best friend and I joke around all the time that we're going to marry some rich old guys and then marry for love after they [pass away]. We happened to be saying this while on line at Victoria's Secret one day when the woman in front of us turns around and says "I did it, it wasn't worth it."
I come from a family that has done this. My mother is 20 years younger than my father and my father is a very wealthy business man.
To say that most women in this situation marry just for money is a misconception IMO. In my mother's case, she is smart, funny, attractive, and was stuck in a poverty stricken family that gave no options for her to excel in life. My dad believed in her and had the income to open doors that had been closed her whole life. In their 30+ year marriage they have travelled, lost all of their money, opened businesses together, made all of their money back, raised a family and all of their children went to university, are in good marriages/partnerships and went on to our own successes.
Their personalities match and they are really good to each other. IMO it's not so much the wealth that my mom was attracted to, but the ability to provide and generate wealth and freedom. In return, my mom provided a strong home life and support system for my dad to professionally succeed and maintain home ties.
But I do not think my mom would have considered a man 20 years her senior a partner if it wasn't for the ability to provide freedom. After his first failed marriage, I don't think my dad would have considered a woman 20 years his junior if it wasn't for her ability to provide a good home life & support system for him.
Love grows in all ways and marriage is about partnership. If two people find a partnership that works, then it's not for anyone to judge the reasons.
See? This is a great story. I am very quick to judge when a younger woman (or older man) marries someone with such an age disparity, but this is a good lesson for me to understand I don't know the whole story.
Bored Panda wanted to get Sam's take on how to tell if someone's partner might be with them just because of their money. We also wanted to know how to protect one's wealth from others taking advantage of it.
"If the partner never offers to pay for anything, that is a huge red flag. A truly loving partner would at least offer to pay for a meal, buy a small gift, or spend time doing something nice for you, especially if they don't have a lot of money. However, a partner who is mainly using you for your money will usually never speak up. They'll just have the default expectation that you'll pay for everything," the founder of Financial Samurai explained to us what people should look out for.
"The wealthier partner can protect themselves by first having an open dialogue about their partner's finances. Once the wealthier partner knows what they are dealing with, then they can make a more informed decision about how money will play a role in the relationship. It is really the surprise money issues that throw couples off-balance," he said.
Yes. I grew up as an ex-pat in the middle east, moved away to go to uni, and couldn't really handle uni as a poor student. Meet someone who cares a lot for me although, in the beginning, I was 100% in it for the money. Moved in together, and I actually became very attached to him. He loves me and treats me with great respect, supports my ambitions, and generally takes very good care of me. I wouldn't say I am head over heels in love with him, but in my own way, I love him. Where I had never had any emotional stability before he provides it. I wouldn't think of cheating on him or ending it because frankly, I think this works much better than any other relationship I could have.
He doesn't cheat either.
Currently studying for a doctorate in geology and at the end of it I will be debt-free.
There are more ways to love than the storybook head over heels "I'd die without them" love.
My girlfriend's parents who are very wealthy always talk about giving us their estate, a job, ect. Although before meeting her this would have seemed amazing, now that I found my best friend and soulmate there's nothing I want more than to live with her in a small cabin in the middle of no where.
Dated a trust fund girl, she was alright looking but I was intrigued by the novelty of the money. Lasted 5 months. Got very tired of feeling like I'd be a kept man, and learned something about myself, in that, never date someone for any reason other than the fact that you love them.
"For example, if you know your partner is deep in debt and you still choose to team up, then that's fine. Your expectations are set. But if you went into your relationship thinking your partner had a million-dollar investment portfolio but doesn't, then things might turn sour quickly. A strong relationship is based on trust and admiration."
Drawing up a prenuptial agreement can be the way forward for some couples. Especially those that have large financial imbalances. "It's about setting expectations and moving forward. The love chemicals can really make people not think straight for the first 6-12 months in a relationship. Therefore, it's also usually good to wait at least 6-12 months before taking a relationship much more seriously," Sam said not to rush into anything.
"Ideally, I think marrying your equal is better than marrying rich. It's extremely rewarding and more dignifying to build your wealth together as a couple. However, if you can marry someone who you love who is also already rich, then that works too!" Sam said. The expert writes more about love, marriage, and money in one of the chapters of his book, 'Buy This, Not That.'
Married for money to help out a friend's sister. We fell in love in the process. After a while, s**t got sour, and we fell out of love. After a long while, she got her citizenship. 1 year later we get an uncontested divorce. No attorney. We had a pleasant divorce and remain friends to this day. Not bad at all.
While I didn't marry for money, I found out he had a s**t ton of it.
I married young and was very stupid. The man I married, I though, was an average guy - not well off, but not struggling. He came from a very sophisticated and educated family, so I knew they weren't idiots, but I didn't realize how much money they had until after I married him.
As the marriage went on, the more money I realized that he had, and the more I realized he was a miser. His entire life his family had the money to spend, but chose to live as close to the bare necessities as normal. Now, I'm not knocking this, as evident by the fact that this money had more money than any other family I knew, and mainly because of the lifestyle that they decided on, but I am knocking how he ended up treating me.
I came into the marriage with nothing, as most 21 year old girls getting married come into a marriage. He, as I found out, had a lot coming into the marriage. Didn't sign a prenup. He was also seven years older. From the day I said "I do" it was an indebtedness. I constantly "owed" him for everything he ever "bought" for me. And he made sure I knew that.
After I realized I had stopped eating because I didn't want to explain why I was spending money, because he checked the bank statements daily, and would comment on "Somebody got breakfast this morning!" or "somebody bought x, y, z" today, I decided the marriage wasn't worth it.
If I wanted to marry for money, I would have stayed in that marriage. His sister and brother just had babies - they got $30k a piece just for the kids from trust funds.
Money is the root of all evil. I avoid it like the plague.
I did. I was in the military and took part in a contract marriage. Basically, a friend of mine from back home agreed to go to the justice of the peace and sign the paperwork. she lived in Virginia, and I was stationed in Texas. It equaled out to me getting roughly $900 a month, plus the option to live off base, and a higher allowance for food. She got free medical benefits. when it was time for me to separate from the military, I went to legal aid, filed paperwork, and was divorced 3 months later, for about $61, the cost to file the paperwork where we married. we are still friends to this day. She has like 5 kids and is married.
It’s hard to gauge exactly how many people would actually marry someone else just for riches. However, one survey from a few years back, conducted by Prince & Associates, showed that around two-thirds of people in the United States would marry someone who looks average but whom they liked if they had around 1.5 million dollars in the bank.
Of course, only 1,134 people were polled for this so don’t take this as a totally accurate representation of what Americans think. What’s more, the survey indicated that the respondents actually like the person in question, too. This is more of a ballpark conclusion that the presence of money can make someone seriously consider marriage if there are already sparks flying there either way.
Meanwhile, another survey, conducted by Merrill Edge, states that 56 percent of Americans want their partners to provide financial security more than “head over heels’ love. 44 percent said that they’d choose love over finances. Interestingly enough, it’s only members of Gen Z (those born between 1996 and 2010) who value love more than gold.
One way to protect your wealth from someone who might take advantage of you is to sign a prenuptial agreement. It’s a contract that outlines the couple’s rights and responsibilities with regard to assets and debts, and explains what would happen if divorce or death would occur.
However, just because someone gets a prenup doesn’t automatically mean that they don’t trust their partner.
I married my high school sweetheart a few months after I turned 18 (he was in college by then). His parents were very wealthy business owners and highly respected. Long story short, nothing we ever had was "ours" it was always his regardless if my working paid for it or not. He hardly worked and when my check wouldn't cover our bills, he would call up mommy and daddy instead of working for it himself. Those parents helped fuel a never-ending and still ongoing oxycontin addiction. He tried rehab for 3 days but quit after that. We divorced a few months later. And the icing on the cake....he was cheating the entire time with a mutual friend. They now have a child together but remain unmarried due to her cheating. His parents raise his child and he is still as strung out as ever. The longest, hardest, and most regretful 3 years of my life went to trying to save that a**hole.
That’s what happens when you give your child everything. Just sayin. 🤷🏼♀️
This is from the opposing viewpoint. My mother-in-law views me as a bank. I am by no means "wealthy", but I make a very respectable living for my age. I am 26 and work for a very large international real-estate company building hotels around the country. I get treated like a bank for whenever she wants ANYTHING. Typically I won't comply, but nothing makes you feel more worthless than being placated for a bank account.
I have never married, but I have been living with 3 different men over the last 6 years.
My family fled from what is now Croatia when I was a kid. My family was pretty messed up, when I got an 'offer' to live with one of the more respected gang leaders in my area I left my family and haven't spoken to them again.
Since then I have been sort of moving up the food chain and I am currently living with an middle-aged CEO who spoils me to no end.
I have never been in a loving relationship, and I'm not sure I know what that means, but I know I love my life the way it is now. I do plan for a future when I'm old and ugly, and I have enough set aside to still live a fairly decent life if I'm kicked out today.
Also, I'm not stupid enough to think this will last for ever.
That seems wise given the circumstances I suppose people have to make the best of their situation.
“In many cases, it’s based on a lack of trust in the legal system, which usually favors women over men during a divorce. My wife signed a prenup, even though I had no reason to distrust her. We’re still happily together and in love almost 9 years to this day and have two children,” dating and relationship expert Dan Bacon shared with Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
“I went for a prenup because I don’t think a person should ever have the power to threaten another person in a relationship with half of their assets. For example: A wife says to her husband, ‘If you don’t do this/that, I will divorce you and take half your stuff.’ So, in my opinion, a prenup is a legitimate way to help reduce the potential for that kind of manipulation in a marriage,” the expert told us.
“My wife was earning slightly more than me when we first met, but that didn’t change my stance on prenups. For me, a prenup is about getting rid of the potential for manipulation or threats and allowing a relationship to last on love, rather than on nasty legal ramifications,” he said, adding that if a relationship is strong and the couple is honest and committed to one another, a prenup won’t undermine anything.
Not me, but my aunt did. Her husband is a gigantic prick and she knows it, he is the most uptight man you will ever meet you could shove coal up his a*s and it would produce diamonds. He constantly hassles her about her weight (despite the fact that she is in excellent shape) and he does this in front of the family, I can't even imagine what he says in private, last time my parents watched their kids he flipped his s**t because we had let them play angry birds, this was during their summer vacation from school and we volunteered to watch their kids because my aunt was currently going through chemo. I know she hates being with him but she won't leave him because A: his family is loaded and B: they have two young kids and she doesn't want to break up the family
I dated someone super-wealthy and yeah, I definitely earned every penny. The dude was an emotional train wreck. I realized I could provide more for myself single and broke in terms of happiness and quality of life than with him.
I went on one date with a rich guy once. Didn't know he was rich. He immediately told me. He had brand clothes. He stopped working with 47, cause he had money enough. Gave his ex the house and bought a new one. It was so off putting. I said no sorry, I am more attracted to homeless guys. He was so arrogant and bragging about money.
My parents had an arranged marriage. Both my parents are Brahmin but my dad's family is also very wealthy. My mom grew up middle class in the US (grandfather was a college professor, grandmother worked at a bank). My mom married my dad because he was a wealthy doctor from an appropriate family. They've been married for 25 years and have three children. I can't say it's a bad arrangement. Thanks to my dad's money, my mom got to quit her job in programming (that she hated), go back to school, and become a teacher. I don't think my parents are or were ever "in love." However, they've never really fought or been bitter towards one another. Both my parents are really good, reasonable people at the end of the day. The money is just kind of a "perk" in their marriage.
My cousin married for future wealth. The pre-engagement agreement was that he would work in IT while she goes to medical school and then she would work and he would take care of the future children. She didn't go to medical school and decided to take an $8.00/hr job at the hospital. They are divorced.
A famous person once said, marry the person as they are now, not their potential.
I'm entirely convinced my father's second marriage was about money/personality. My bio-mom is a great lady, but she isn't organized and is very scatter brained. She's very smart, but she forgets stuff all the time and is hard to live with sometimes.
My dad's second wife is wealthy, comes from a wealthy family, and is highly and efficiently organized (like, polar opposite of my bio-mom). Now, money isn't the whole deal, but my dad wanted nothing to do with what he perceives to be the "boring stuff", like paying taxes, bills, accounting, anything related with finances. He wanted someone to "run the house" while he worked. My bio-mom did not perform this task acceptably in his eyes.
The offshoot is that my step-mom is able to do so much because she has constant care for her two children (my step-brother/sister). She doesn't have to watch them all the time, and my mom raised their 3 children (me, brother, sister) all while running the household. Of course stuff is going to get lost in the hectic fray of raising 3 kids alone.
I love both of my parents, but I think my mom kinda got the raw end of the deal.
My mother married because she hated living with her aggressive mother, and was sort of in love with my father. She was a stay-at-home mom, slowly working towards her degree, but now, 22 years later, she's 45 and with barely 8 years of working experience, and she hates her relationship with my dad and hardly loves him anymore. It's a horrible marriage, but she doesn't divorce because she won't have a maid, a brand new car, or basically money to buy every f*****g thing she wants to buy. Personally I believe it's really horrible, and once she said she was going to get a lover to satisfy her emotionally. I was furious, and told her it would be really horrible and she would be basically leeching off my father. It wasn't pretty.
Ninja edit: To answer your questions about affairs and mistreatment, my dad is terribly aggressive. He has hit my mom in the past, and he will sometimes deny her money as means of control, and insult her. My mother just lives with it 'cause she's emotionally and economically dependent.
This one is really really sad. I hope this person isn’t damaged by this toxic behaviour.
Well, about a month after I got my now ex-wife full custody of her child, I found out she was cheating on me. She didn't give a single f**k. Roughly $20K spent on what she could never afford. I suspect she married me in part for money. At least the divorce part was easy.
I'm so sorry that sounds so painful. I don't know how people cheat so easily
Yep.
When I was 21, I met a girl from a very wealthy family. Well, not that wealthy, but wealthy to me, as I had grown up dirt poor, and I had spent the years from 18-21 living by my wits (stealing and scamming).
This girls parents were worth around 6-10 mil, and she was madly, I mean **madly** in love with me. I was a narcissistic druggy. I didn't have anything else to do, so I married her.
I didn't really exactly how estranged from her parents (and their money), she actually was. I kept waiting for the cushy job with dads company, the free house, the big payouts. They didn't come. We got *some* stuff, a couple cars, a few trips to other countries, nice presents, but no big payout. After time, we had a kid, and the kid was spoiled rotten. I realized that even though I would never get my big payday, my child would never have to suffer and struggle the way I did when I was little.
Eventually, I came to love her, for who she was. This had more to do with me getting my s**t together than anything else. It's been more than 10 years.
It hasn't always been easy, but when I've wanted to leave, the thought that just another 5 or 10 years, and we will have enough money to travel and never work again, keeps me hanging on. I've definitely talked out things that I would have just said 'f**k it' if I hadn't thought "I've put up with her s**t this long, theres no way I'm leaving before I get paid"
The way I see it, most people are going to work a job they hate for 50 years, to get a little payout one day, I can get more by just staying married than I could ever get working, and it's not gonna take 50 years.
She must’ve put up with a lot too if you were still an addict or really into drugs when you got married? And also, what an awful and messed up way of looking at your wife and your marriage. She deserves better.
My cousin married a Mexican girl that needed citizenship in the US. She got her citizenship, divorced him, and took half his money.
Surely if you are doing a green card marriage, you make sure upfront that the prenup covers all. Logic!
My sister married for money. She had a big house, expensive cars, unlimited spending limit etc .. She was happy cause she got everything she wanted. We grew up poor and she worked hard for years before she met Sam. Well she didn't love him and she cheated on him with the man she loved. She left her glamours lifestyle to live in a one bedroom apartment. She now works in the meat deli.
Do what you want but set up a bank account and some money for a rainy day. You may end up like my sister. Or you may grow to love this man your with in time.
I am currently dating someone who I am not as fond of as I should be considering how serious we are.. but it's hard to think past the money.
Her immediate family has approximately 100 million+ in the bank, the largest and most dominant business in their respective market and she loves me beyond control.
Her driveway of Ferrari's and Bentley's and knowing that I could be handed a 6 figure job any time I want one if I'm willing to commit is troubling to my mind and my soul but I cannot get past the thoughts of "what if" .....
Dude, reevaluate. You will end up with a life full of regrets and might-have-beens
I dated a trust fund girl who cheated on me repeatedly. I think in hindsight I stayed with her for the thought of money. It was not worth it.
To me that would be the most painful betrayal (cheating) I don't know how anyone could tolerate it
I have two distant cousins. Family gatherings were the only time I would see them. When they were in their late teens and early twenties I would hear them talk about how their goal in life is to marry a rich guy and get pregnant. They were very vocal about this. Everyone in our families knew. They weren't uneducated either. Both of them were in college and finished (can't remember specifics). They were also fairly attractive. Not so much in the face. I would rate their face a 6-7, but their bodies were 10's. They were tall and looked like models.
The younger one got married first. She was 23. The guy she married was a genuinely nice guy. Very successful but not private jet or helicopter successful. They lived in a very nice place in the city and drove $80k+ cars. Months after they got married, she is pregnant. Just like she planned. A few years go by, and, surprise surprise, they are getting a divorce. Why? Because the economy tanked, and his business failed. The kicker is that they still had millions of dollars AFTER the market tanked in assets and investments. Apparently, this wasn't enough for her. She now collects alimony. There are enough stories about this one to fill a book.
The older one got married a few years ago. She was the uglier of the two but still very attractive. She, imo, was also the smarter of the two. While still a gold digger, she was more about love. She had boyfriends she fell in love with but ended the relationships because they weren't rich enough. One of them was a small business owner whose business took off shortly after, and I remember her being depressed about it. Pathetic. She ended up marrying a very successful guy, and, surprise surprise, ended up pregnant months after. They are still together, and I give their relationship a decent chance of lasting only because she is more loving. Her sister is cold-hearted, and an all-around b***h.
A friend of mine got married in the military to double his pay. He thought to ask a girl who was an ex but was who was also his seemingly toned-down stalker. She wasn't toned-down at all. The money outweighed the thought I guess. It went horribly bad.
It's been about four years now and she's creepily sending him mail from her base and constantly, negatively harassing him even though they both agreed it was for the dough. She refuses to sign divorce papers so it's making his life incredibly difficult to try and separate.
Though, he probably should have thought before marrying his stalker. In retrospect, he said, it wasn't awfully worth it.
Who would have thought marrying your stalker wouldn't end well *rolleyes*
We got engaged in fall of 2010. I worked FT at the college she went to. We found out that the college covers all tuition for immediate family that's not covered by FAFSA. So we went to the court and got married, with full plans to have an actual ceremony in July 2012. In early September 2011, she confessed she had been having doubts about us for a long time, and moved out shortly after. After 7 months of separation, we're now getting divorced.
So not exactly strictly for money, but if it weren't for the financial benefits, we wouldn't have gotten married until this summer.
My good friend got fake gay married to a Danish guy for the health benefits... not a bad idea!
20 dollars is 20 dollars. Or health insurance is health insurance. Wait. Don't most EU countries already have health care?!
Totally different?
My sister sucked up to my Dad, because he had money. I refused to play along. He is kinda awful, underneath.
King Lear much? He said he'd send us both to private school, we just had to say we loved him.
My Dad got a lump sum retirement, he sank most of it in AOL. I hope my sister her enjoys having him as a friend now!
My dad's third wife and kinda my mom married for the money. It was all about money. Everything was about money and looks. That’s all anyone talked about. Now my dad's younger ex-third wife lives with her vapid emotionally messed up daughter who supports her despite having gotten everything when my dad [passed away]. She went deeply into debt expecting more. What a waste of a family. She started dating my dad like ten years before he left my mom. She blames my dad like he was some controlling monster but she was a hot 19-year-old. Then she got rich in real estate. She has zero excuses for the train wreck her life has become. Despite everything, my mom went on to kick ass all by herself. But my mom was also the classic angry first wife despite being the hot second wife. So there’s that. As someone who married a poor man and now supports myself and raises kids mostly alone, I want to wring all of their necks for the stupid s**t they freak out over and make important. I wouldn’t choose that life again in a million years. It’s poor misery. Back biting. Catty. Depressed aimless kids. Petty drama.
A friend of mine entered a contract marriage and it worked out well for her. The guy was a union worker, recently divorced, and about to retire. The union contract he was going to retire under stated that either person he was married to or most recently married to at the time of his retirement got his pension upon his death. His pension was worth a couple of million, plus he had savings and property (which he made a great deal of money on), and he hated his ex wife. He and my friend were neighbors and they got on reasonable well so they got married, he retired, and passed away a few later (a total of five years married). He left her everything. Their agreement was that she would see to it that his children each got a sizable sum of money, which they would not have gotten if the pension would have gone to his ex, and she could keep the rest. When it was all said and done, she walked away with almost a million dollars and his children (both adults) got over two million each.
I married for love. Unfortunately It’s not working out. I finally woke up when I realised that my husband never said anything positive about me. It really didn’t matter what the situation was, he felt better if he belittled me. I’m not here to make him feel better by feeling superior to me. I wouldn’t have minded as much but his family is a huge mess and he got dumped on by a few of them. His childhood was terrible. I understood that and tried to make him feel good about himself. I would make a real fuss about his birthday, he forgot mine. I’d be very supportive of everything he did, he’d put me down. My family completely welcomed him and treated him as “one of us”. He avoided being around my family and tried to isolate me from them. His latest “Bonne mot” is claiming that taking my aunt to her medical appointments is ignoring him. I’m afraid I’ve had enough. I can only support him so much. 25 yrs down the drain and my confidence in tatters but I have my family, however much he tried.
Fiona, you only have one life, this isn't a dress rehearsal. The problem was never you, so pick your feet up and leave him to it. Good luck x
Load More Replies...I married my best friend. We have built a life together. At one point, he made way more money than me, and at another, me more than him. But we love each other and I know we have each other's back in all situations. We all age, we all die. Life is too short to spend with someone you do not love or trust.
A friend of mine entered a contract marriage and it worked out well for her. The guy was a union worker, recently divorced, and about to retire. The union contract he was going to retire under stated that either person he was married to or most recently married to at the time of his retirement got his pension upon his death. His pension was worth a couple of million, plus he had savings and property (which he made a great deal of money on), and he hated his ex wife. He and my friend were neighbors and they got on reasonable well so they got married, he retired, and passed away a few later (a total of five years married). He left her everything. Their agreement was that she would see to it that his children each got a sizable sum of money, which they would not have gotten if the pension would have gone to his ex, and she could keep the rest. When it was all said and done, she walked away with almost a million dollars and his children (both adults) got over two million each.
I married for love. Unfortunately It’s not working out. I finally woke up when I realised that my husband never said anything positive about me. It really didn’t matter what the situation was, he felt better if he belittled me. I’m not here to make him feel better by feeling superior to me. I wouldn’t have minded as much but his family is a huge mess and he got dumped on by a few of them. His childhood was terrible. I understood that and tried to make him feel good about himself. I would make a real fuss about his birthday, he forgot mine. I’d be very supportive of everything he did, he’d put me down. My family completely welcomed him and treated him as “one of us”. He avoided being around my family and tried to isolate me from them. His latest “Bonne mot” is claiming that taking my aunt to her medical appointments is ignoring him. I’m afraid I’ve had enough. I can only support him so much. 25 yrs down the drain and my confidence in tatters but I have my family, however much he tried.
Fiona, you only have one life, this isn't a dress rehearsal. The problem was never you, so pick your feet up and leave him to it. Good luck x
Load More Replies...I married my best friend. We have built a life together. At one point, he made way more money than me, and at another, me more than him. But we love each other and I know we have each other's back in all situations. We all age, we all die. Life is too short to spend with someone you do not love or trust.