Man Demanding Wife Use Inheritance To Pay His Student Debt Divides Internet

A husband and sole income earner has divided opinion online after demanding his wife use some of the money she received as inheritance to pay off his student loans.

However, his other half has so far refused, telling him "the inheritance belongs only to her."

They say that money is the root of all evil and, when it comes to relationships, that old adage does appear to ring true. A 2019 University of Tennessee study found that, regardless of whether the relationship was a happy or healthy one, money was what couples disagreed about most.

However, for one couple airing their grievances on social media, money isn't just a source of disagreement, it could be the catalyst to destroying their marriage altogether.

Writing under the handle sloanaita, in a post upvoted over 7,000 times on Reddit, a concerned husband detailed how a significant windfall has left him at odds with his wife.

The father of two who is the "sole income provider" has been working to slowly pay back his student loans over the past few years. However, he seemingly thought all of his money issues had been solved recently when his wife received a "large inheritance" that amounted to around five times his debt.

Yet when he spoke to his other half about paying off the loans she "refused" to give him the money explaining that his loans "pre-date" their marriage and are therefore his "sole responsibility."

Angered at her response, which he felt was "unfair," the husband said he decided to hit back. "The next day I told her that if she was not going to help me pay off her student loans, now that she has money I will not be paying for any expense that is solely hers," he wrote. "Instead I will be putting that money towards my loans to pay them back faster."

His wife accused him of being "controlling with money" and claimed he was "abusing" his position as the sole earner in the family. While neither side appeared willing to budge on the issue, the topic proved similarly divisive on social media.

Some like Constant_Craving were firmly on the fence. Though he acknowledged it would be "sensible" for the man's wife to use the money to put the family "in a better financial position" he agreed that the husband was "abusing" his position as income earner.

"Unless you're paying her a salary for watching the children, then she is enabling you to make your salary and is entitled to money too," they added.

Bibbity-Bobby was similarly conflicted. Though they felt his suggestion that he use more of his salary to pay off his loan was "perfectly reasonable" in light of her inheritance, he felt "something isn't quite right."

"If I am in a happy marriage with a good husband and father to my kids then darn right I'm paying that debt off," they said. "It would feel awesome to do something like that for someone I love."

Others like Molly_Menace sided with the wife, branding her husband's response as "abusive."

"He should respect the work she does. Instead he is trying to hold her inheritance hostage, and remove her choices and options," they said.

However, users like Powersmith vehemently disagreed. "She's not powerless or financially beholden if she just inherited several hundreds of thousands of dollars," they wrote.

Automatic_Western_50, meanwhile, sided firmly with the husband. "She has her own money now and I think it's only fair," they said.

Newsweek has contacted sloanaita for comment.