'I Feel Trapped, Cannot Be Part Of It': Man Drains Joint Bank Account, Divorces Wife Battling Cancer, Via Text

A man texted his cancer-stricken wife to say he was leaving after he drained all their joint savings - a story that has exposed a disturbing pattern; husbands walking out on their ailing wives at their most vulnerable.

Marie took to TikTok and Reddit to share her harrowing ordeal. In her post, she revealed the message her husband of six years sent as he disappeared from her life, taking with him every dollar they had saved — money she desperately needs for ongoing medical treatment.

“My husband of 6 years up and vanished, drained our mutual account and sent me this when I asked what the hell was going on,” she wrote. “My condition is foul, I’ve had multiple surgeries, treatments, etc … But I’ve always been faithful, I still cooked him dinners up until this happened. He’s pretty convinced I’m dead to rights, I personally think I have a chance…”

Accompanying the post was an MRI scan of her brain, showing the tumor.

“Listen, it’s been hard, I can’t handle watching you die,” her husband texted. “I feel alone, I feel trapped, I’m not sure where or what I’m going to do … I’ve invested a lot during your treatment so I’m recouping what I put in plus extra for my future. I can still have one.”

He closed, “Be happy for me, that I can live for us both.”

Men More Likely To Abandon Their Spouses After Cancer Diagnosis, Research Shows

Research shows men are significantly more likely to abandon their spouses after a cancer diagnosis than the other way around.

A 2025 study tracking over 25,000 heterosexual couples aged 50 and above across 27 European nations found that divorce was more common when the wife became ill. In contrast, husbands battling illness saw no comparable spike in separation rates.

Even earlier, a 2015 study following 2,701 marriages concluded that all the divorces triggered by illness were initiated by men. And a 2009 paper revealed the most reliable predictor of abandonment among brain cancer patients: being a woman.

According to The Guardian, men were seven times more likely to leave their partners after a brain cancer diagnosis.

Professor Alex Broom, a sociologist and director at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, believes these statistics expose the enduring gender imbalance in caregiving and emotional support.

“Research has often shown that women bear the brunt of caring responsibilities at both ends of life,” he explained. “But also, that the men in their lives can be ill equipped to provide them with care and support when they need it – whether in the context of serious illness or at the end of life.”

“The ‘caring gap’, as we may call it, may explain why some men ‘jump’ when faced with difficult scenario. The social norms binding them to the social contract of care is weaker than it is for women.”

Marie's Heartbreak Runs Deeper Than Financial Theft

“We met in high school, I supported him financially during his degree, I was there when his sister died,” Marie said. “Now I’m just sitting in our apartment, unsure where to go next. That money was there for future treatments, it was money I helped accrue … To take it all. I just can’t.”

Celebrity relationship expert Paul Brunson also weighed in on this alarming trend during an episode of Diary of a CEO.

“What these men say is that they’re no longer getting their emotional or physical intimacy needs met, and as a result of no longer getting this thing, they’re out,” he explained. “There’s a disproportionate amount of the relationship that is placed on the physical side.”