15 People Who Married for Money Reveal How Their Life Went After

Let’s be honest: at some point, many people think about marrying into money. Who wouldn’t want the luxury of exotic vacations or the freedom of never stepping into a grocery store again? The idea of being swept off feet by someone with deep pockets can feel as tempting as a chocolate cake after a tough breakup. But what happens after the fairy tale? Do they really live "happily ever after," or does the honeymoon phase end faster than you can say "prenup"?

1. The allure of marrying into money: when the dream turns into betrayal.

"I met my wife 10 years ago. I wasn’t really in love with her, but I thought she was a safe bet—someone I could rely on to avoid heartache and build a secure future. She came from a wealthy family, was well-educated, and had that classic 'nerdy' charm. Being with her seemed like the key to financial stability for me and our future kids.

But I was a fool to think she was the picture of innocence. After years of being married, I found out the hard way: she had been in a long-term affair with someone else. Worse, she had a pattern of cheating in every relationship she’d ever had. It felt like a punch to the gut.

What I didn’t realize was how skilled she was at lying, covering up the truth with half-truths and excuses. Like a child raised with a silver spoon, she was deeply selfish. I saw then that I was paying for my choices.

I gave everything to building a family and a home, only to end up with nothing. Now, I push aside my instincts, even when they scream that something’s wrong, because deep down, I know she’ll never change."

2. Is financial security worth a loveless marriage?

"My sister met her fiancé by pure chance in a parking lot. It felt like something straight out of a fairy tale. He was a wealthy man, and their romance progressed at lightning speed, just three months later, he was on one knee, proposing to her.

When she introduced him to our family, I realized just how incredibly lucky we were. We had always lived paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get by, and then this man walked into our lives like a golden ticket. It was the kind of opportunity most people could only dream of. But looking back, I’m not proud of what I did next.

My sister had always been the better one: smarter, prettier, more successful. She was always ahead of me in everything. And somewhere deep down, I convinced myself that she could still make it on her own. She was capable of building a career, earning money, and living a full life.

But I didn’t feel that way about myself. I had always struggled to find my place. I stole my sister’s rich fiancé. My family cut me off—but I was living the dream.

Years later, my mom showed up. She slipped me an envelope, saying, 'Even you don’t deserve this.' I froze at the photo of my husband with a man in a restaurant. They were so close, almost too close for just friends.

As it turned out, my husband had been cut out of his family’s money unless he got married. His parents had never really accepted him, and his marriage to me had been the only way he could secure his inheritance. I was nothing more than a pawn in a game I didn’t fully understand.

That’s why, when he so easily switched from my sister to me, I realized the truth. He didn’t care who he married. To him, it was just about securing his future. It was never about love; it was about convenience. And in the end, I paid the price.

I lost my sister. I lost my family. And I lost any shred of confidence I had that I could ever truly find love. None of the wealth or material things that came with marrying him were worth the deep humiliation I felt when I finally learned the truth. It all came at too high a cost."

3. The importance of a backup plan: even when marrying rich.

"My sister married for money. She had a big house, expensive cars, and an unlimited spending limit, etc. She was happy because she got everything she wanted. We grew up poor, and she worked hard for years before she met Sam.

Well, she didn’t love him and cheated on him with the man she loved. She left her glamorous lifestyle to live in a one-bedroom apartment. She now works in the meat deli.

Do what you want, but set up a bank account and save some money for a rainy day. You may end up like my sister, or you may grow to love the man you're with in time." © if_only_you_knew / Reddit

4. "It wasn't worth it": a stark warning from someone who married rich.

"My best friend and I joke around all the time that we're going to marry some rich old guys and then marry for love after they die.

We happened to be saying this while on line at Victoria's Secret one day when the woman in front of us turns around and say, 'I did it, it wasn't worth it.'" © SuperOtter / Reddit

5. Fake persona, fast pregnancy, empty fortune: the unexpected karma of marrying for money.

"I grew up with very little. There were days we went hungry, and I often had to wear my sisters' old, worn-out clothes. Teachers would always shake their heads, saying it was hard to believe someone as smart and beautiful as me came from such a struggling family.

I realized my way out of poverty: marry rich. I created a whole new persona and made up a fake story. I haunted golf clubs, chasing 'the one.' Found a man in his 60s. Got pregnant fast to lock it in.
He was always so kind to me and the baby, even though I never really got why he was so fixated on charity and all that other stuff.

Years later, when they read his will, my blood ran cold. He was always passionate about animal rights. He left his entire fortune to some foundation, leaving me and my son with just a small apartment in the middle of New York. I still can't believe I spent the best years of my young life with that old man."

6. Can money and love coexist in marriage? A surprisingly positive story.

"I come from a family that has experienced this. My mother is 20 years younger than my father, and my father is a very wealthy businessman.

To say that most women in this situation marry just for money is a misconception. In my mother's case, she is smart, funny, attractive, and was stuck in a poverty-stricken family that gave her no options to excel in life. My dad believed in her and had the income to open doors that had been closed to her whole life.

In their 30+ year marriage, they have traveled, lost all of their money, opened businesses together, made all of their money back, raised a family, and ensured all of their children went to university, are in good marriages, and have gone on to achieve our own successes.

Their personalities match, and they are really good to each other. In my opinion, it's not so much the wealth that my mom was attracted to, but the ability to provide and generate wealth and freedom. In return, my mom provided a strong home life and a support system for my dad to professionally succeed and maintain home ties.

But I don't think my mom would have considered a man 20 years her senior as a partner if it weren't for his ability to provide freedom. After his first failed marriage, I don't think my dad would have considered a woman 20 years his junior if it weren't for her ability to provide a good home life and support system for him.

Love grows in many ways, and marriage is about partnership. If two people find a partnership that works, then it's not for anyone to judge the reasons." © clark_3409 / Reddit

7. Married for money, found real love: an unexpected twist of fate.

"I grew up as an expat in the Middle East, moved away to attend university, and struggled as a poor student. I met someone who cares a lot for me, although at first, I was 100% in it for the money.

We moved in together, and I actually became very attached to him. He loves me, treats me with great respect, supports my ambitions, and generally takes very good care of me. I wouldn't say I'm head over heels in love with him, but in my own way, I love him. Where I had never had emotional stability before, he provides it.

I wouldn't think of cheating on him or ending the relationship, because frankly, I think this works much better than any other relationship I could have. He doesn’t cheat, either. I'm currently studying for a doctorate in geology, and by the end of it, I will be debt-free." © katable / Reddit

8. From gold digger dreams to true love: one person's change of heart.

"My girlfriend's parents who are very wealthy always talk about giving us their estate, a job...

Although before meeting her this would have seemed amazing, now that I found my best friend and soulmate there's nothing I want more than to live with her in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere." © just_be_me / Reddit

9. "Never date for money": a harsh lesson learned from a trust fund relationship.

"Dated a trust fund girl. She was alright looking, but I was intrigued by the novelty of the money. Lasted 5 months.

Got very tired of feeling like I'd be a kept man, learned something about myself, in that, never date someone for any reason other than the fact that you love them." © Unknown user / Reddit

10. Wealthy family secrets and a miserly marriage: the hidden downsides of marrying rich.

"While I didn’t marry for money, I found out he had a ton of it. I married young and was very naive. The man I married, I thought, was just an average guy—not well off, but not struggling either. He came from a very sophisticated and educated family, but I didn’t realize how much money they had until after I married him.

As the marriage went on, I realized just how much money he had, and how much of a miser he was. His family had the means to spend freely, but they chose to live as modestly as possible. Now, I’m not criticizing that lifestyle, because it clearly allowed them to accumulate more wealth than any other family I knew. But what I do have an issue with is how he treated me.

I came into the marriage with nothing, as most 21-year-old girls do when they get married. He, as I found out, had a lot coming into it. We didn’t sign a prenup. He was also seven years older. From the moment I said, 'I do,' it felt like I was indebted to him. I constantly 'owed' him for everything he ever 'bought' for me, and he made sure I knew it.

Eventually, I realized that I had stopped eating because I didn’t want to explain why I was spending money. He checked the bank statements daily and would comment, 'Somebody got breakfast this morning!' or 'Somebody bought x, y, z today.' At that point, I knew the marriage wasn’t worth it.

If I had married for money, I would have stayed in that marriage. His sister and brother just had babies, and they each received $30k for the kids from trust funds. Money is the root of all evil. I avoid it like the plague." © ACTimshel31 / Reddit

11. Spoiled partner, cheating scandal: the toxic reality of marrying into entitlement.

"I married my high school sweetheart a few months after I turned 18 (he was in college by then). His parents were very wealthy business owners and highly respected. Long story short, nothing we ever had was "ours"; it was always his, regardless of whether my paycheck paid for it or not. He hardly worked, and when my check wouldn’t cover our bills, he would call up mommy and daddy instead of working for it himself.

These parents helped him acquire a never-ending and still persisting "bad habit". He tried to go to rehab for three days but quit after that. We divorced a few months later. And the icing on the cake... He was cheating the entire time with a mutual friend.

They now have a child together but remain unmarried due to her cheating. His parents raise his child, and he is still as strung out as ever. The longest, hardest, and most regretful three years of my life went into trying to save that idiot." © real_housewife / Reddit

12. No love, just luxury: a pragmatic take on living off a wealthy CEO.

"I have never been married, but I have lived with 3 different men over the last 6 years.

My family fled from what is now Croatia when I was a kid. My family was pretty messed up, so I left them and haven't spoken to them. Since then, I’ve been kind of moving up the food chain, and I’m currently living with a middle-aged CEO who spoils me to no end.

I’ve never been in a loving relationship, and I’m not sure I know what that means, but I know I love my life the way it is now. I do plan for a future when I’m old and unattractive, and I have enough set aside to still live a fairly decent life if I’m kicked out today. Also, I’m not stupid enough to think this will last forever." © GirlWithAPast / Reddit

13. Trapped by gold: when marrying rich means enduring emotional manipulation.

"Not me, but my aunt did. Her husband is a very difficult person, and she knows it. He is the most uptight man you will ever meet. He constantly criticizes her about her weight (despite the fact that she is in excellent shape), and he does this in front of the family. I can't even imagine what he says in private.

The last time my parents watched their kids, he completely overreacted because we let them play Angry Birds. This was during their summer vacation from school, and we volunteered to watch the kids because my aunt was going through chemotherapy at the time.

I know she dislikes being with him, but she won't leave him because: A) his family is wealthy, and B) they have two young kids, and she doesn’t want to break up the family." © Unknown user / Reddit

14. Choosing peace over wealth.

"I dated someone super wealthy, and yeah, I definitely earned every penny. The guy was an emotional train wreck.

I realized I could provide more for myself, single and broke, in terms of happiness and quality of life than I could with him." © MyPCOSThrowaway / Reddit

15. Arranged marriage, unexpected happiness: when wealth is just a bonus.

"My parents had an arranged marriage. Both of my parents are Brahmin, but my dad's family is also very wealthy. My mom grew up middle class in the US (her father was a college professor, and her mother worked at a bank). My mom married my dad because he was a wealthy doctor from a respected family.

They've been married for 25 years and have three children. I can't say it’s a bad arrangement. Thanks to my dad’s money, my mom was able to quit her job in programming (which she didn’t enjoy), go back to school, and become a teacher.

I don’t think my parents were ever 'in love,' but they’ve never really fought or been bitter toward one another. Both of my parents are really good, reasonable people at the end of the day. The money is just kind of a 'perk' in their marriage." © Unknown user / Reddit

We had a perfect marriage for 12 years until I decided to do some spring cleaning and revealed my husband’s secret life. I started sorting through dusty boxes in the garage that had been there for years. While going through them, I opened one without thinking.
Inside was a heart-shaped candy box. But what truly froze me was what I found inside. My heart sank when I saw a note: 'Thanks for sharing your husband with me... Click here to read the full story!