Ex-wife’s ultimate revenge on husband who hid vast wealth

A woman who struggled to feed her kids has revealed how her ex-husband tricked her into thinking they were poor throughout their entire marriage – and how she got the ultimate revenge on him when she finally discovered the truth. 

Karen, whose story was retold in Whimm, said she believed her husband Toby when he told her they were poor because he was the main breadwinner in the house and she was a stay-at-home mum, with no real grasp on how much he was earning. 

Karen said for years her friends were “amazed” that she never had money of her own and instead relied on the weekly allowance Toby gave her for groceries and the kids. She said by the end of the week, “there was rarely anything left for me to spend on myself”.

“I guess I made a nuisance of myself sometimes asking friends to lend me money so I could buy makeup and toiletries,” Karen said.

And as time went on, the situation became harder to deal with, but Karen said her husband “was very against me working” and would yell and call her stupid when she suggested they upgrade things like their couch or old shoes, which were falling apart. 

She added: “He got really angry, screaming: ‘What makes you think we can afford new furniture? I’m working my a** off to keep food on the table. We can hardly afford to take a vacation this year because you spend everything I earn’.”

In a particularly cruel blow, he even stopped her from attending her sister’s wedding because he insisted they couldn’t afford a $US200 airfare. “So I really believed that we were scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to money,” she said.

After years of digging through bargain bins at stores and feeding a family of five with $20, the pair amicably decide to divorce. Karen said her husband told her there was no need to get a lawyer and that he would handle the division of their finances. She almost agreed, but at the insistence of her friends, decided to hire a lawyer. It was then Karen discovered her husband was hiding a huge secret from her.

Read more: Female Boomers struggling with money after divorce

“The lawyer looked at our joint account and saw that there was a lot of money coming in and being put into a separate account,” she said. “Turns out he was extremely well-paid, and had been all along.”

With a little more digging, the lawyer found transfers of $70,000 and some of $100,000. “I was shocked as I believed Toby was only making around $55,000 a year, which is what he told me he his yearly salary was. Why would I think otherwise?” she asked.

After hiring a forensic accountant, Karen also discovered her husband not only owned another home, he was also part owner of a winery.

While the discovery understandably left her shocked and hurt, like all good ex-wives, she took inspiration from The First Wives Club and got her just desserts. 

“The good news is that after years of thinking we were absolutely broke, I was able to take him to court and I was given my share of the wealth that he had been hiding from me for so long,” she said. “And you know what? I actually have Toby to thank for something. Not only do I now have a substantial fortune at my disposal, I am also great with money.”

Read more: Ladies, take control of your financial future

What are your thoughts on this? Did you discover you ex was hiding something when you broke up? Do you think women should take more control of their finances?