February has a way of turning up the volume on relationships. It’s everywhere. Ads telling you how love should look, social media highlighting grand gestures, and subtle (or not-so-subtle) pressure to spend money as proof of care. And if you’re in a relationship, money is usually right there in the background… even if no one is naming it.

No one gets married thinking, “One day, a credit card statement will be the thing that undoes us.” Most couples assume it will be communication, intimacy, or time. And while those matter deeply, research continues to show that money, especially unspoken and unresolved credit card debt, is quietly becoming one of the most corrosive forces in modern relationships.