Groom in pink jacket wears ring on the finger of the bride on the beach
We often talk about love, commitment and fidelity as the cornerstones of marriage, but perhaps the most destructive force in a modern Kenyan household is financial secrecy. The escalating cost of living is doing more damage to marital harmony than any infidelity.
It’s time to accept that full financial disclosure must be elevated from a suggestion to a sacred marital vow and abandon the old advice that couples should share financial information for sustainability. The economic reality of the current era brutally clashes the romantic ideal of marriage. When inflation is high, job security is low and debt lurks in every corner, hiding a loan, a bad investment or an over-leveraged lifestyle is not an act of privacy but an act of sabotage.
These hidden financial bombs eventually detonate, revealing a foundation built on deceit leading to betrayal that often feels worse than emotional infidelity. How can a couple effectively plan for school fees, healthcare or retirement when one partner is operating under a fictional budget? The dishonesty cripples the most fundamental shared goal of a stable future. Radicle honesty is required for partnership to survive the current crisis.
Vows should be updated to include an oath to transparency “I promise to honor you, cherish you and disclose to you all my debts, assets and liabilities.” This means having a clear picture of the shared financial landscape and not merging bank accounts.
Such honesty allows the couple to face their challenges as a united front, developing crisis management plans together rather than one partner discovering a looming disaster too late. In an economy that demands two hands on the wheel, financial secrecy is an outdated luxury that modern Kenyan marriages can simply no longer afford
