In marriage, honesty is priceless, but so is financial security.

When a wealthy relative offered to pay off their mortgage, one spouse was thrilled while the other clung tightly to their principles, leaving the husband stuck between love and logic.

Read on for the full story!

WIBTA if I (34M) pay off the mortgage without telling my wife (33F)

During the holidays, a close relative of mine graciously offered to pay off our mortgage after a business deal resulted in generational wealth.

They had been wealthy before this business deal, but now they are extremely wealthy.

But his wife isn’t on board.

My wife is not comfortable accepting the money.

Her stance is that she has always worked for everything and never been handed anything.

I admire her drive and want to respect her wishes, but this is a lot of money.

He can’t help but think about what this money would do to them.

We are comfortable financially, but this would obviously allow us to save money each month.

Our mortgage has about $250K remaining at 6% interest.

He feels he bears a heavier financial load and could stand to gain a little more security.

Both my wife and I contribute a portion of our paycheck to pay for expenses, but I handle most of the finances.

My salary is about three times hers.

So now he’s left with a tough choice to make.

WIBTA if I accept the gift without telling my wife and transfer each month’s “mortgage” payment into our brokerage account?

Accepting the gift could make their finances easier, but deception could make their marriage harder.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter thinks they’re both at fault for different reasons.

Regardless of what the couple chooses to do, a long conversation is necessary.

This commenter has a bone to pick with the wife.

Now the biggest effort will be getting his wife on board with accepting a life-changing amount of money.

Some debts are financial, while others are emotional.

If he chooses secrecy, he may pay off one while racking up another.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.