Hi there, I have just joined this forum today and just wanted to get a load off of my chest.
My husband told me a few days ago that he was in a significant amount of debt due to gambling. This wasn’t the first time, he had issues ten years ago when he still lived at home and his mum helped him set up a repayment plan and got him attending meetings. Then around 2 years ago he had told me he was in debt again due to his gambling, and I paid this off for him but didn’t realise the extent of the problem and he didn’t go to any meetings. So, this time around he was in much more debt. Again, I had to go into my fixed savings account and use money we were going to use a house deposit to cover his debt.
When talking about this situation, he told me that his problem hadn’t got better from when he lived at home. He wasn’t actually attending those meetings after the first one or two. When I bailed him out the first time, he still kept one of his credit accounts open and this led to him gambling again.
This time, he has already accessed help via GamCare. He is attending meetings, I have full access to his bank account, he has blocked the gambling websites. He says it won’t happen ever again because he is disgusted with himself and hates feeling the shame and panic. He was throwing up every day before work and sometimes even at work. He is already taking steps to pay me the money back and I will be reimbursed by the end of the year. Just for context, we also have a baby who was born a few months ago.
I guess I would just like some reassurance. Do people think this really won’t happen again? Is there anything else I can do to make sure it doesn’t?
Thank you for reading
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