Has anybody stayed with their partner after finding out they have a gambling problem

[Applefall321]

Looking for input of others experiences, have long suspected my partner has a gambling problem but today it has been confirmed after looking at his gambling account online (left it signed in on the laptop). He has spent £1200 in 11 days.

Have spoken over the phone to him about my discovery and he has said we will discuss it tonight but agrees he has a problem.

I strongly suspect everyone will say just leave him. For context, we have a 3 year old child together so it is not so easy to split and on that front he is a good father. He hasn't spent any of my money and has always contributed equally to our bills etc in our joint account.

Just looking to see has anybody been in a situation where a loved one has dealt with their gambling problem and if so what steps did they take?

I wouldn't stay with a gambling man if I had a 3-year-old daughter.

Sorry OP. It won't get better. 1200 pounds thrown down the drain is an horrendous amount of money.

Take it from me. Solo parenting is so much better than the head space needing to deal with something like that.

Hi thank you so much for your response.

I do hear what you are saying but I do think given this is the only problem we have and he has admitted he has a problem and wants help to sort it I do feel I should give him a chance first. We have agreed that he will now pay all his wages into the joint account, he has cut up his personal current account card and credit card and has also shown his credit score, so I know he hasnt accumulated a lot of debt. It is a ridiculous amount of money to throw down the drain but it was his own disposable income/savings he spent.

My concern is he has refused to go to counselling or gamblers anonymous, he seems to think these measures will be enough to break the habit.

I may regret my decision not to split but I just feel it is unfair to not give us a chance since we get along in every other area in life. And from a somewhat selfish perspective, I dont want to not see my DC everyday 😢.

I think one chance is acceptable if they are making you happy in every other area. I’d want lots of boundaries and ground rules though.

Looking at the amount of threads over the years about DPs who gamble I would say a lot of Women do stay. Whether that’s a good idea and they live to regret the choice is an entirely different matter.

And I don’t see it as his money. If you are in a relationship and have a DC together then it’s family money that he’s gambled away. Money that could of been used for a better home, savings or a break for you all.