After four years of dating, Katerina’s husband proposed to her in Pismo Beach last January during a trip along the California coast. The excited couple quickly began planning a March 2023 wedding in Malibu, California. Then some things about his partner’s finances didn’t quite add up.
Katerina, who lives in San Diego, California, said, “He’s very tight-lipped about money, so it’s become an avoided topic in the relationship,” and asked that her middle name be used for privacy.
“He said it was an uncomfortable subject for him, and it seemed as if he had money or not, depending on the situation.”
As the wedding date approached, Katerina began to worry about the constant stream of online purchases at her home and all the sports equipment piling up in the garage. He wondered if pooling finances was really a smart idea.
“I didn’t know everything he bought because he kept it a secret, but a lot of it revolved around his hobbies: cycling, weightlifting/gym, rock climbing, diving, golf o “play,” he said.
“But then I noticed that the hobby never materialized, so it became junk.”
She confronted her fiancé and found out that his savings were zero and he was spending about $2,000 a month on random purchases.
“I felt cheated,” Katerina said. A few months ago, she made the difficult decision to call off her wedding and break up with her long-term partner. He promised to go to therapy and change his ways, but she was skeptical.
“[It felt] “It’s like an irreparable betrayal for someone to hide it from you,” he said.
Gen Zers and millennials are increasingly concerned about the financial health of their romantic relationships. They’re talking openly about credit scores and early relationship savings, creating prenuptial agreements, and clearing things up about money.
“Financial infidelity is a serious problem because it undermines trust in a relationship and points to communication problems,” said Esther Lee, deputy editor of wedding website The Knot.
Node financial study 2022 43 percent of respondents found that they consider it a deal breaker if their partner is secretive about finances or dishonest about spending money.
Research shows that more and more couples are getting married regardless of their financial situation – they just don’t Gisele and Tom Brady. A new report from Harris Poll It found that 15 percent of American adults surveyed had signed a prenup, up from just 3 percent in 2010. Also, 35% of unmarried people said that they might sign a prenuptial agreement in the future.
New York-based attorney Andrea Vacca of the Vacca Family Law Group said she has seen prenups become more and more popular in her practice.
“More and more people are getting them – [even] young people, people who don’t have a lot of assets yet,” he told The Post. “People don’t want their parents to divorce.”
This is consistent with other data. A new request The buy-now, pay-later company reports that millennials consider the ability to manage money to be the most attractive trait in a partner. Meanwhile, a TD Bank Survey 97 percent of Millennials report discussing finances with their partner at least once a month, compared to 88 percent across all age groups. And 27 percent of all respondents discussed financial issues with a potential romantic partner before going on a first date.
Gen Z and millennials have experienced a succession of financial uncertainties, experts say, including the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic, mounting student debt and current inflation. So they pay more attention to money matters.
Katerina says she learned a lesson after marriage and talks more about money with future partners.
“The finances must be on the table and transparent before a serious commitment can be made,” he said. “I could ruin my life by marrying him.”
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