Kevin O'Leary likened marriage to a business in a social-media post on Tuesday, arguing that a union's longer-term viability hinges a lot more on financial partnership than romance, adding that money stress is the leading cause of marriage failures.
O'Leary Frames Marriage As Financial Partnership Model
"When you get married, you're creating a business. Marriages fail, men fail, when they're unable to provide for their family. Financial stress is the number one reason for failed marriages in America. It's not infidelity. It's the stress of financial issues," O'Leary wrote on X.
O'Leary also said he knows "the top reason" behind failed marriages because he is a shareholder in online prenup platform HelloPrenup, which he backs for making agreements accessible to average couples rather than just the wealthy. He invested after the founders pitched the company on ‘Shark Tank.’
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Prenup Platform Data Highlights Shifting Couple Priorities
Interestingly, HelloPrenup -- the startup O’Leary mentions -- in a study published in 2024, reports that 75% of couples keep premarital assets separate, even as 79% still plan to share a joint bank account, signaling a preference to protect individual wealth while contributing to shared expenses on their own terms. Women initiate 52% of prenups on the platform and most have under $500,000 in liquid assets, dispelling the notion that prenups are only for the wealthy.
Shark Tank Investor Urges Candid Money Talk
The Shark Tank investor said financial viability now matters more than romantic ideals in determining whether marriages last and urged couples to talk openly about spending, debt and goals early on. More recently, O’Leary also advised young couples to preserve separate financial identities until they are married and deliberately build a life together.
The billionaire, often known as ‘Mr. Wonderful,’ has long argued that prenuptial agreements protect individual assets and independence, calling the idea of skipping a prenup "moronic" and framing divorce as "the biggest destroyer of wealth you'll face." He says prenups are about risk management, not planning a breakup.
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