'Keep Your Account To Yourself': Kevin O'Leary's Stern Warning For Couples

Help from the Sharks on "Shark Tank" can make or break businesses — but what about romantic partnerships? Entrepreneurial reality show co-host Kevin O' Leary took to social media to dish out some strong advice for married couples who want to stay together: Keep your finances apart.

In a September 2024 Instagram post of a Fox News "Outnumbered" interview, O'Leary makes no bones about how couples should keep their bones separate to protect their union, and themselves. In the post commentary, O'Leary emphasizes that "So many marriages fall apart over MONEY, not LOVE. Protect yourself."

What prompted such a fervent warning from O'Leary? Is Mr. Wonderful's advice truly wonderful? Or is it as regretful as one of the worst deals Kevin O'Leary ever made? Opinions on O'Leary's edict may be about as split as this Shark thinks married finances should be. What else did he have to say, and why is he so passionate about the subject? And what are the merits to his advice?

While some couples find partnership in splitting everything they do down the middle, Kevin O'Leary pushes for each member of the couple to maintain their own financial identities and credit potential. In the clip, O'Leary discusses how most relationships shatter under the burden of financial stress, not stress from infidelity or (presumably) other difficulties faced in life. (On that note, here are warning signs of financial infidelity you shouldn't ignore.)

O'Leary warns that sharing a financial identity could impact couples should the relationship end, cautioning that divorced couples who have merged finances face being considered a "nobody" in the American system. "You have to have your own credit track record," he said. "Don't let emotions get in the way of that." This can seem like cynical couple advice, especially considering the true love partnership most couples aspire to commit to on their wedding day.

However, while many couples work well together at balancing their shared finances (even perhaps following some of these genius money tips every couple should know), this isn't true for everyone. Even a cursory search of the internet, a review of subreddits dedicated to marriage and money, or a chat with personal friends and family, can unearth some horror stories of partners who shared their finances, only to be left in the lurch. Sharing finances can mean shared assets, increased funds, and a newfound freedom for exciting financial decision-making, but it can also mean assuming extreme levels of debt, a doubt in a partner's ability to manage money, or any number of financial red flags raised by a partner before marriage.

While on "Outnumbered," a study by personal finance app Monarch was referenced, which led to Kevin O'Leary offering his advice on shared finances. Per Monarch's survey, only 7% of Generation Z men wanted their partners to make more money than them; for millennial men, this number was 20%. While the Gen Z cohort has grown up with financial instability, it may not have experienced financial and economic hardship as keenly as millennials.

Ego might also have something to do with what Gen Zer partners are looking for when it comes to equitable income, along with other current trends that seem alarmingly retroactive on their face. For example, the "tradwife" aesthetic of a homesteading housewife with a bread-earning male partner who makes all decisions may have deeper real-life roots than its social media trendiness might belie. In Monarch's data, 31% of Gen Z women surveyed wanted their partners to make more than them, compared to 21% of millennial women.

Considering that O'Leary's insistence on keeping finances separate may have been directed more at young couples helps to contextualize the advice. So, too, does considering that younger generations may be more highly influenced by seemingly "new" social media trends when it comes to making financial decisions. Not to mention, the old idea of love being enough. Says O'Leary: "I don't care how in love you are, keep your financial independence. Period." When it comes to joint marital finances, for this reason, O'Leary's out.