‘I don’t care how in love you are’: Kevin O’Leary cautions couples they should ‘never’ marry their finances — but does his strong stance actually make sense?

Finding the right approach

Deciding whether to merge your finances after marriage is no simple choice, and what works for one couple may not work for another. Many couples opt for shared accounts believing it simplifies access to money and makes splitting responsibilities like paying bills or grocery shopping more convenient.

But O’Leary does have a point here, particularly when it comes to building credit. If one partner manages most of the financial obligations, the other may struggle to establish their own credit history. Shared accounts also means shared liability — if one partner racks up debt or forgets to pay the credit card bill, both credit scores can take a hit.

And if your marriage ends, you may suddenly find yourself joining the ranks of the roughly 26 million adults in the U.S. who are classified as “credit invisible.”

Without your own financial profile, lenders have limited information to assess, making it difficult to secure basic financial tools like mortgages or credit cards. By maintaining a separate financial identity, you ensure that regardless of your relationship status, your creditworthiness — and access to essential financial resources — remains intact.

“After you get divorced, if you have been merged in with your significant other, you’re a nobody in our system,” emphasized O’Leary.

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Millions of Americans are struggling to crawl out of debt in the face of record-high interest rates. A personal loan offers lower interest rates and fixed payments, making it a smart choice to consolidate high-interest credit card debt. It helps save money, simplifies payments, and accelerates debt payoff. Credible is a free online service that shows you the best lending options to pay off your credit card debt fast — and save a ton in interest.

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Avoiding financial infidelity

That being said, credit isn’t everything. And keeping separate bank accounts can also make it easier to keep secrets in a relationship.

According to recent data from Experian, a significant 27% of 18 to 35 year olds admit to lying to their partners about their financial situation. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 of young adults say they don’t trust their partner enough to open a joint account.

But for couples who share their finances, as the research from the Journal of Consumer of Research shows, it can actually create a greater sense of trust by being confident in how your partner handles their money and creating a shared sense of responsibility.

Because if you think about it as protecting your shared financial future, you're much more likely to get there in one piece.