Marital infidelity is when someone has an extramarital affair or a relationship outside of their marriage. Financial infidelity is similar, but it relates to money. In some fashion, one person has been unfaithful or dishonest about their finances.
An example of this could be if someone is spending excessively. Maybe they tell their spouse that they’re putting money aside for retirement or investing it in their business. But they are actually gambling, buying illegal drugs or making frivolous purchases. They are lying about it because they know that their spouse would not approve.
2 reasons for divorce
Financial infidelity can lead to divorce for many reasons, the first of which is that it just destroys the trust in the marriage. If one person has been lying about how they’re spending money and the other person discovers that fact independently, it’s going to be hard for them to trust each other moving forward. Once this has happened, the couple may not be able to repair their relationship.
Financial issues
Of course, financial infidelity can also lead to a lot of monetary issues. Someone who has been spending money on a gambling addiction may suddenly not have enough money to pay taxes at the end of the year or to make their rent payments. This sudden financial stress puts a lot of pressure on the couple’s relationship, especially when it becomes clear that financial infidelity is the root cause of the problem.
When getting divorced, couples in this position need to be well aware of their legal rights. After all, financial infidelity could indicate that there will be serious issues dividing up property during a divorce.