In a recent interview on the website Hello Beautiful, actress Lisa Raye sounded off about how she didn't know the financial details of her marriage and is now left financially devastated.
As you may recall, Raye married Michael Misick, the Premier of Turks and Caicos in 2006. There were more than 300 guests at the lavish ceremony including celebrities and dignitaries from around the world. Raye looked so happy. She was a First Lady to the Premier.
Fast forward two years and the couple are now in a bitter divorce. Raye has said that during their marriage, she was "clueless about their money situation" and that she "had to rely on what he would tell me." He told her they were rich.
But during a recent trial concerning Misick's legal troubles, Raye learned about loans, bank statements and money funneled through accounts that she was on, but didn't know her husband was using. Huh?
Raye said that she and her husband signed prenuptial agreements in the United States before they got married, but she recently learned that he knew that the agreements were not binding in Turks and Caicos. She now feels bamboozled. hoodwinked. duped. "used."
She asked her soon-to-be-ex, "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you leaving me financially devastated where I can't take care of my family? This isn't fair."
No, it's not fair. But this bothers me.
How much is this her fault? I know when you get married, you're in love and you hope that you're marrying someone you could trust. I'm sure she trusted her husband to take care of her and their family. And I'm sure he did. She seemed to be living a nice lifestyle with a lot of perks as First Lady. But when things got rough and they were no longer together, she was left with nothing. She had given up her career and her lifestyle in California to live on an island with a man she knew nothing about.
I remember in the movie Waiting to Exhale, Angela Bassett had no idea how much money her husband was worth. He had homes in different states and money all over the world. Like Raye, she relied on what he told her and was content because they were living a comfortable lifestyle. But she ended up getting a nice settlement after his wealth was uncovered.
What do you think?
Do you think Raye should have known that her prenup wasn't binding in Turks and Caicos? Do you think she should have investigated her husband's financial situation before they got married? How would she have found out? Do you think she should have kept a separate account so she would not be in the financial state she's in today? Do you think she should have given up her career to be the First Lady? Lots of women give up their career to take care of their family and the man is the sole breadwinner.
What about you?
Would you investigate your future husband's financial situation before marrying him? Who would be responsible for the financial dealings of the marriage? Would you have a joint account? What about a separate account? Does a prenup mean you don't trust your spouse or you don't believe that your marriage will last?
oh, it all sounds so complicated.
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1 comment:
Trust but verify, that's what I say. I'm REAL funny with my money so I would have checked and doublechecked if it were me.
People fall in love and forget marriage -- while romantic and all of that -- is still a business transaction with legal paperwork involved and you have to think rationally not emotionally.
I suspect Lisa was thinking more about how even more glamorous her life would be and not on top of her business. Oprah always says, you have to read the fine print and know all of the details.
In my marriage, I handle the money for the most part. I'm just better at it and my husband trusts me to be fair and do the right thing. We have a couple of joint accounts and I'm sure the longer we are married the more joint debt we will acquire. But even though I trust and love him, we have agreed that he will add me to the deed on his house if I sell mine.
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