We’ve all heard about the power dynamic risks that come with a major age gap, but seeing it play out in a financial sense is a whole different level of ick.
There’s something deeply twisted about a man worth hundreds of thousands of dollars watching his wife drown just to prove she isn’t getting a free ride.
This 35-year-old woman got married to her 50-year-old husband last fall follow four years spent together. This upcoming summer will mark their five-year anniversary.
Back when they first began dating, her husband had just purchased a 3-bedroom 1-bathroom house in a beautiful neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Meanwhile, she was renting a tiny apartment and only had 400 square feet of space to cram herself and all of her possessions into.
“We work in the same field, but due to our age gap, he’s a lot further along in his career and makes A LOT more money. Like $400k to my $90k,” she explained.
“Right after we moved in together two years ago, we both got furloughed basically. He still insisted then, as now, that I stick to our agreement to pay the same rent I paid at my old apartment ($1,300).”
“His mortgage is like $3,900, very low for the area, because he bought during 2021 when the rates were great. So basically, I’m paying a third of his mortgage every month. Plus, all of the $300 for my storage unit we now share. ”
She’s not trying to be spiteful, but after spending two years unemployed following getting laid off from her job, she did think her husband would help her out.
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He’s got far more money in the bank than she does, but no, he told her that she doesn’t deserve a free ride and has to pay her share of their expenses.
She’s been draining her savings account while helping him build his up, and she doesn’t think that’s fair. Additionally, her husband snaps at her to make sure she pays him on the first of every month.
“It’s starting to really feel weird, especially now that we’re married… I asked him, what happens when he retires before I do? He lives off his own savings and never needs anything from me,” she continued.
“What’s the long-term plan? It just doesn’t feel like a partnership; it’s so transactional and also just, to me, unfair.”
She’s left wondering if she’s the jerk for not wanting to pay for a third of her husband’s mortgage, which he was responsible for before they became serious.
Her husband is actually the worst for letting her struggle while he’s bringing in close to half a million dollars a year. He’s completely taking advantage of her, and I can’t understand why she married him in the first place, since this precedent was set before they tied the knot.
He’s treating her like a business transaction and not acting like a partner or a spouse. I don’t really have a solution for her except getting a divorce, since she has nobody to rely on but herself anyway, so she might as well be single.
What do you think?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
