In an ideal marriage everything would be 50-50, including the efforts one puts in and the finances that go behind running a home. However, it’s not always the case that both partners earn the same kind of salary or are available for the family in the same way. In such cases, finances and household responsibilities should be split in such a way that both partners are comfortable and are able to fulfil their share easily.
However, a woman took to Reddit’s r/Marriage subreddit to share how she’s on unpaid maternity leave and her husband still expects her to pay half the rent. The husband earns four times her salary.
“I’m on unpaid maternity leave. My husband still expects me to pay half the rent. Is this fair?” she asked.
She went on to add that despite the massive difference in earnings, they used to split rent 50-50 but now that they have a baby together, she is having to dig into her personal savings. On top of this, the two of them are looking to buy their own house and she is expected to contribute to the deposit.
“My husband earns 4x more than me. We’ve been splitting rent 50-50 since we moved in together, before we got married. The arrangement did not change after we got married and now that we have a baby, with me having 0 income, so I’m relying on my personal savings. I say personal because we don’t have a joint account. We are currently looking for a house and I’m also expected to contribute for the deposit (75% of my total savings). Is this fair? What is the best way to approach this?”
She went on to add that he pays the utility bills, he doesn’t give her allowance for the baby, he pays for groceries and when they are dining out he funds their travel overseas once a year.
Have a look at her full post here:
I’m on unpaid maternity leave. My husband still expects me to pay half the rent. Is this fair?
byu/No-Quit-1112 inMarriage
People online were quick to call this out as financial abuse. As a father, he is liable to take financial responsibility of the child and as a husband, whose wife just gave birth and is on unpaid maternity leave, he is obligated to financially sustain her too. Being fully aware of her financial conditions and still expecting her to go 50-50 is totally unfair.
Here’s how some of them reacted:
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What are your views on this incident?