When debt causes couples to break up

As far as marriage vows go, it is debt, and not just death, that routinely causes couples to part.

- Tan Ooi Boon

After all, it is hard to keep love alive if one party chooses to be cavalier in spending while the other struggles to keep the household afloat.

Money woes can have severe consequences for couples intending to buy their first home because no bank will lend them money if one of them has a record of defaulting on loans.

Not surprisingly, even the law does not side with people who cannot control their spending because such behaviour can have far-reaching consequences. In 2022, the High Court allowed a woman to divorce her husband because she could no longer bear living with him due to his "financial irresponsibility".

Here are two cautionary tales on how debt caused couples to break up.

INABILITY TO MANAGE MONEY

A man thought he had the makings of an entrepreneur when he put in $50,000 to start a business despite his wife's objection. Even when the company went bust, he was not deterred and went on to incur more debt.