Financial infidelity asymmetry predicts couples’ financial and relationship well-being

Financial infidelity (FI)—engaging in and concealing financial behavior expected to elicit spousal disapproval—is relatively prevalent in marriage, but its impact on couples has been largely unexplored. Taking a novel couple-level perspective, we examine how discrepancies in partners’ propensity to commit financial infidelity (i.e., situations where one partner is low in FI-proneness and the other partner is higher in FI-proneness, referred to as the degree of financial infidelity asymmetry) affect couples’ financial and relationship well-being, relative to situations where both partners are equally transparent with each other regarding financial matters. Using a multi-method approach, including a pilot study with real bank account data, dyad studies, and experiments, we find that as compared to couples where both partners are low in FI-proneness, couples with greater financial infidelity asymmetry are more likely to have individualized (vs. shared) financial goals, which predicts lower financial well-being and relationship satisfaction. We also demonstrate that financial infidelity asymmetry has unique predictive value beyond other potential asymmetries within couples (e.g., partner differences in tightwad-spendthrift tendencies). Our findings extend prior work at the individual level and highlight that financial infidelity is a dyadic experience that poses harm to the couple.