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Husband spending heavily on online dating and refusing to stop

13 replies

Whoismyhusband · 31/05/2026 00:39

Name changed for this as cba to change all the details I am going to give.

Hi everyone, please be kind. I'm having a proper tumultuous time; my mind is full of things I should do and I don't know what to do first, or even if I should be doing completely different things. I would REALLY welcome advice!

I have been married over 40 years. I have 4 grown-up (ish) children, 2 of whom live at home. Some years ago, I said that I wanted to split up and we have been living together, but not sharing the same bed or having sex, since then.

I very much want to continue to be civilised, and so far we seem to have managed this. I absolutely expect that both of us will probably move on and start new relationships in the future, but this was on the understanding that we would discuss any changes to the existing plan for the house. We had agreed that once the 2 youngest were slightly older, I would move out and rent a flat, until they were old enough to live independently and then the house would be sold. We agreed that we would like to try and split things ourselves, once that happened.

Four weeks ago I found that my husband was online dating 2 much younger women from abroad. He said that he was going to live with one of them in the UK.

This obviously meant plans would need to change. About 2 weeks later, I found out that he had spent more than £10,000 on the dating agency. He has not spoken to the women, other than messaging via the website. I strongly believe that he is being scammed. He does not, and refuses to stop speaking to them. He has no idea how much he has spent in the last 3 weeks. He will not find out.

Any advice on what I can do? I care deeply about him and should have added that he had some serious illnesses a few years ago. I wonder if he may have dementia. I have put the thread in 'addiction' because he seems to be completely addicted to messaging these women.

Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
MeganM3 · 31/05/2026 00:44

File for divorce. Get a solicitor and protect the assets as best you can.

Winter2020 · 31/05/2026 02:18

Are your finances separate? You need to make sure that he can only spend his own money that he has left after his share of the bills.

Can you find reviews or discussion about the agency online that suggests it is a scam that you can show your husband?

Damnedidont · 31/05/2026 03:30

You need to contact a solicitor right away. You need to protect your financial interests . Hopefully it's not joint assets that he is using to fund this fantasy. But if it is you need to find a way to stop it before he bankrupts both of you

caringcarer · 31/05/2026 03:36

If you have a joint account withdraw the same amount for yourself. See a solicitor asap. Pay out of joint account. Personally I would withdraw most of money in joint account to preserve it for future splitting by a judge. If you leave it there he'll just take it and hand over to these women.

MynameisnotJohn · 31/05/2026 05:28

I had a similar separation arrangement with my ex. Worked fine. In fact we are still married. The DC have never moved out though! (London) so waiting for them all to be able to live independently may take longer than you should sensibly allow.
In our case ex agreed a split of finances that allowed me to get somewhere to accommodate the DC and a big part of his motivation in letting me move on was that he could then set up with his new girlfriend. Can you use his stupid scam shenanigans to force a change where you quickly divorce and you get enough to keep a larger property?

What does he say when you tell him he’s probably sending money to a team of men in India or Nigeria? Can to get him to watch one of the shows about dating site scams?

kateluvscats · 31/05/2026 05:57

Just out of interest, is he on any medication for restless legs or Parkinson's?

Cordeliasdemonbabies · 31/05/2026 06:46

Agree divorcing quickly or at thr very minimum, a legal separation agreement is needed ASAP. If he spends all his money, he will likely end up with more in the divorce to even you out.

Silverbirchleaf · 31/05/2026 06:47

MeganM3 · 31/05/2026 00:44

File for divorce. Get a solicitor and protect the assets as best you can.

First post nails it.

Silverbirchleaf · 31/05/2026 06:49

kateluvscats · 31/05/2026 05:57

Just out of interest, is he on any medication for restless legs or Parkinson's?

I remembering reading about this, how some drugs have completely altered the personalities of patients, causing them to become gamblers, sex addicts etc.

Esmeraldathe3rd · 31/05/2026 06:51

File for divorce before he spunks all his money on these women a that don't exist. Like get the ball rolling now. Get as much money from joint accounts as you can to prevent him spunking it. Obviously declare it, he'll be entitled to half of it. But if you give him half now, he'll get half of your half once the divorce actually starts.

Notsosweetcaroline · 31/05/2026 06:54

Well yes of course he’s being scammed, but if he refuses to stop all you can do is divorce and so you protect finances. He is not dating these women, they likely are not even women,

if you suspect dementia is there any way to get him to a doctor?

chirrupybird · 31/05/2026 06:59

Can you get someone else to talk to him a sibling or friend that he would believe more than an ex. It sounds like a typical romance scam, can you get hold of photos of these 'women' and do a google lens to see if they pop up all over the place?

DaisyChain505 · 31/05/2026 07:07

You hire legal representation and get a divorce…yesterday. 🤦🏽‍♀️

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