30 People Reveal How Their Life Went After They Married For Money

"Financial stability is hugely important when it comes to having a successful long-term relationship. Both partners need to be on the same page financially, which means being open about existing financial issues before entering into a committed relationship. Issues such as how much debt one has, a low credit score, prior judgments, and bankruptcies must all be laid out on the table. It's best not to have financial surprises!" financial expert Sam stressed to Bored Panda that total honesty in this area is vital for the sake of a successful relationship.

"Once you know your respective financial baselines, then you can come up with a financial game plan. Given money is often a top-three reason why relationships fall apart, having financial stability is important," he said. "I'll take it a step further and suggest that if you truly love your partner, you are willing to make them financially independent as well. In other words, make your partner wealthy enough that they can survive just fine on their own."

Bored Panda wanted to get Sam's take on how to tell if someone's partner might be with them just because of their money. We also wanted to know how to protect one's wealth from others taking advantage of it.

"If the partner never offers to pay for anything, that is a huge red flag. A truly loving partner would at least offer to pay for a meal, buy a small gift, or spend time doing something nice for you, especially if they don't have a lot of money. However, a partner who is mainly using you for your money will usually never speak up. They'll just have the default expectation that you'll pay for everything," the founder of Financial Samurai explained to us what people should look out for.

"The wealthier partner can protect themselves by first having an open dialogue about their partner's finances. Once the wealthier partner knows what they are dealing with, then they can make a more informed decision about how money will play a role in the relationship. It is really the surprise money issues that throw couples off-balance," he said.

"For example, if you know your partner is deep in debt and you still choose to team up, then that's fine. Your expectations are set. But if you went into your relationship thinking your partner had a million-dollar investment portfolio but doesn't, then things might turn sour quickly. A strong relationship is based on trust and admiration."

Drawing up a prenuptial agreement can be the way forward for some couples. Especially those that have large financial imbalances. "It's about setting expectations and moving forward. The love chemicals can really make people not think straight for the first 6-12 months in a relationship. Therefore, it's also usually good to wait at least 6-12 months before taking a relationship much more seriously," Sam said not to rush into anything.

"Ideally, I think marrying your equal is better than marrying rich. It's extremely rewarding and more dignifying to build your wealth together as a couple. However, if you can marry someone who you love who is also already rich, then that works too!" Sam said. The expert writes more about love, marriage, and money in one of the chapters of his book, 'Buy This, Not That.'

It’s hard to gauge exactly how many people would actually marry someone else just for riches. However, one survey from a few years back, conducted by Prince & Associates, showed that around two-thirds of people in the United States would marry someone who looks average but whom they liked if they had around 1.5 million dollars in the bank.

Of course, only 1,134 people were polled for this so don’t take this as a totally accurate representation of what Americans think. What’s more, the survey indicated that the respondents actually like the person in question, too. This is more of a ballpark conclusion that the presence of money can make someone seriously consider marriage if there are already sparks flying there either way.

Meanwhile, another survey, conducted by Merrill Edge, states that 56 percent of Americans want their partners to provide financial security more than “head over heels’ love. 44 percent said that they’d choose love over finances. Interestingly enough, it’s only members of Gen Z (those born between 1996 and 2010) who value love more than gold.

One way to protect your wealth from someone who might take advantage of you is to sign a prenuptial agreement. It’s a contract that outlines the couple’s rights and responsibilities with regard to assets and debts, and explains what would happen if divorce or death would occur.

However, just because someone gets a prenup doesn’t automatically mean that they don’t trust their partner.

“In many cases, it’s based on a lack of trust in the legal system, which usually favors women over men during a divorce. My wife signed a prenup, even though I had no reason to distrust her. We’re still happily together and in love almost 9 years to this day and have two children,” dating and relationship expert Dan Bacon shared with Bored Panda during an earlier interview.

“I went for a prenup because I don’t think a person should ever have the power to threaten another person in a relationship with half of their assets. For example: A wife says to her husband, ‘If you don’t do this/that, I will divorce you and take half your stuff.’ So, in my opinion, a prenup is a legitimate way to help reduce the potential for that kind of manipulation in a marriage,” the expert told us.

“My wife was earning slightly more than me when we first met, but that didn’t change my stance on prenups. For me, a prenup is about getting rid of the potential for manipulation or threats and allowing a relationship to last on love, rather than on nasty legal ramifications,” he said, adding that if a relationship is strong and the couple is honest and committed to one another, a prenup won’t undermine anything.