Gambling husband

[hellinabreadbasket]

Ok, deep breath... Two weeks after marrying dh I found out that he had gambled away £17000 of someone else's money (a family member). This is a very long story, so apologies.... Family member win the money themselves gambling and dh (who did not gamble at the time) looked after it (at family members request) to stop her from gambling the rest away.
We own a house together, the only way to raise this sort of money to pay back is by getting a huge loan against the house, as a remortgage is not an option due now to husbands bank statements. I love my husband and think that he would never gamble again (and am taking control of all our money too) but am so unsure of what to do about the debt. Any help- am at wits endb

I'm another one who thinks this is the tip of the iceberg. I buy the odd lottery ticket - I have more chance of winning that than spending £1,000 on roulette, never mind £17,000. There is no way that someone starts at that level - none at all. Even if a non-gambler did bet £1,000, losing it would stop them putting another £16,000 on immediately. That's not how gambling works.

I would definitely separate from him. Without a doubt. He has the potential to destroy you financially. Even if I kept seeing him for a drink or whatever, I would want to live separately and keep all of my money separate.

If you don't you will be totally destroyed.