Many of us have experienced that gut-wrenching feeling when we realize the relationship we’re in and thought was “the one” turns out to be a total wash.
Sometimes the eventual severance comes down to a difference of morals or plain-old lost feelings. And sometimes it happens when dishonesty, like catfishing, is revealed.
But many people in the younger generations are navigating a new kind of deception: financial future faking. It’s when people make big promises to each other about sharing a home, lifestyle, or long-term financial security early in a relationship without any real intention or follow-through. This phenomenon is an offshoot of “future faking,” a psychological manipulation tactic recognized by major health care and psychological organizations.
Financial future faking is becoming a major factor in Gen Z and millennial divorces—and perhaps a reason why these younger generations marry less often or much later in life.
“I often see a lack of financial intimacy, transparency, and alignment as central factors in divorce,” celebrity divorce attorney Jackie Combs told Fortune. “When money becomes a source of leverage, or when expectations are never clearly articulated, it fractures communication, creates misalignment, and erodes trust.”
