{"id":7762,"date":"2026-08-26T09:06:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7762"},"modified":"2026-08-26T09:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:06:03","slug":"harriette-cole-i-learned-of-my-husbands-workplace-swindle-and-im-appalled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7762","title":{"rendered":"Harriette Cole: I learned of my husband’s workplace swindle, and I’m appalled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DEAR HARRIETTE:<\/strong> My husband recently screwed over his business partner by taking significantly more of the profit for himself. I feel so appalled this is the man I married.<\/p>\n

Read more Miss Manners: We accidentally trespassed and didn\u2019t know what to say to the person on the porch<\/a><\/p>\n

I knew my husband was ambitious and very competitive, but I never thought he would intentionally take advantage of someone he had built a business with. His business partner trusted him, and now their relationship is completely falling apart because of what my husband did.<\/p>\n

When I confronted my husband about it, he told me he did what he had to do and that his business partner should have been more careful about protecting his own interests. He doesn\u2019t seem to feel guilty at all, which honestly bothers me even more than what he did.<\/p>\n

I keep thinking about how easily he was able to justify taking money that I believe he knew he had not earned. Now I am questioning what this says about his character and what it means for our marriage. If he is willing to treat someone he has worked closely with this way, I can\u2019t help but wonder whether he would ever do something similar to me if it benefited him.<\/p>\n

Am I overreacting by allowing his business decisions to change the way I view him as a husband, or should I take this as a serious warning about his character?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dubious Character<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR DUBIOUS CHARACTER<\/strong>: You have every reason to question whether your husband would think twice about screwing you over since he did it to his business partner.<\/p>\n

You may want to take a close look at your finances to see what\u2019s in your name, how well you are protected in case of emergency, etc. You may even want to speak to an attorney to gauge your rights to property and assets just so you know where you stand.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Beyond that, take a moment to think about the health of your marriage. Is there a way you can talk more deeply with your husband about this egregious act of deception and how it impacts the two of you?<\/p>\n

Read more Dear Abby: I just found out my fiancee is seeing another man<\/a><\/p>\n

DEAR HARRIETTE:<\/strong> My mom has been estranged from her sister for years due to my aunt making poor life choices. She moved to a rough neighborhood and often prioritized her own relationships over her children and their needs.<\/p>\n

Although my mom doesn\u2019t speak to my aunt, I sometimes do, and, to my knowledge, my aunt is in a much better headspace than she once was. She has a job now, left her ex and is prioritizing her kids.<\/p>\n

The other day my mom asked me to share with my aunt that a relative had passed. I told her I didn\u2019t think that was appropriate, especially since I didn\u2019t know the relative. My mom agreed, and I gave her my aunt\u2019s contact information. My mom texted her to tell her, and that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

I asked my mom if she will speak more with my aunt, and she brushed it off. Am I overstepping for wanting them to fix their relationship?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Overstepping Son<\/em><\/p>\n

DEAR OVERSTEPPING SON<\/strong>: Try to bring them together. Tell your mom that her sister is working hard to improve her life. Plan a gathering where you bring the two together. Encourage them to talk and see if they can heal. Urge your mother to give it a try.<\/p>\n

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c\/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more California man arrested after guillotine found near US Capitol<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does this say about his commitment to our marriage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nHarriette Cole: I learned of my husband’s workplace swindle, and I’m appalled - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harriette Cole: I learned of my husband’s workplace swindle, and I’m appalled - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What does this say about his commitment to our marriage?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-26T09:06:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Harriette Cole: I learned of my husband’s workplace swindle, and I’m appalled\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-26T09:06:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/934295b22278f63640af5eb98e8b862d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7762\",\"name\":\"Harriette Cole: I learned of my husband’s workplace swindle, and I’m appalled - 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