A woman shared on Reddit that her husband had been jobless for six months, after also being unemployed last year.
He recently got a good offer: ₹70 lakh ($80,000) a year, hybrid work and short commute. But, he declined it after learning there’d be a drug test. Also, the hourly rate was less than what he expected.
The husband said he hated coding and corporate life, didn’t want drug tests and dreamt of being a performer. So far, his acting work has been unpaid. He does the bare minimum to keep unemployment benefits and avoids serious job talk.
“When we talk about his work future, he gets avoidant. He used to do standup comedy (never made money at this) and now says his dream is being an entertainer. He’s been pursuing roles, but up till now it has been strictly volunteer basis (sic).” she wrote.
“When he’s been talking about coding the way he has all these months, I would suggest he take free LinkedIn classes through the library, he’d go mmm and change the subject,” she added.
She’s been supportive, but after more fights and emotional stress, she said she wanted to divorce him.
“I told him would like to split up if he doesn’t take it. He brought up the subject of alimony and how difficult it would be for me financially trying to buy him out of the house. I told him if he is truly planning on not taking it, he should call them and let them know instead of stringing them (and me!) along (sic),” she wrote.
He eventually turned down the job and agreed to couples therapy and job hunting again.
“But I still feel upset and betrayed despite him having apologized for having put me through this. Am I overreacting? (sic)” she asked.
Social media reaction
Many Reddit users asked her to seriously think about divorce.
“His response—“Can you afford alimony?”—is outrageous. Is he intentionally not working so that you’ll be financially responsible for him if you decide to leave? That’s incredibly selfish,” wrote one user.
The OP agreed when one user suggested, “Most courts will impute income to prevent those capable of earning income when it comes to determining alimony and child support. If he’s turning down job offers, the court typically sees through that.”
“Get out while you can and protect yourself. I see a lot of red flags in your story that I recognize,” came from another user.