A Florida stay-at-home mother is warning others about the risks of relying on a partner after her husband abruptly filed for divorce, leaving her and the children ‘with no money.’
Courtney, a 37-year-old fitness TikTok creator from Delray Beach, shared in a now-viral video the ‘terrifying’ moment she realized her husband’s push for divorce would leave her with ‘no income’ to support their two youngsters.
Her anxiety only intensified last month when her husband said he would cut off her credit card, stop paying the bills and demanded she handle the payments herself.
But after a decade as a stay-at-home mom, Courtney has no experience beyond managing her home and children – and now faces the grim reality of not knowing how she’ll cover life’s basic necessities.
‘I have no income, I have no money. I use my husband’s credit card and I use my husband’s money,’ Courtney said.
‘This is the reality for so many stay-at-home moms, and nobody prepares us for it,’ she added. ‘Maybe this is why I’ve been drowning in anxiety and depression.’
Over the past few years, the mother of two has documented her weight loss journey on TikTok for her 74,400 followers, sharing workout routines, recipes and tips on female hormonal health.
In November, however, her content grew more personal, with videos detailing her mental health struggles as a mother and her ongoing marriage issues that she’s been addressing with a counselor.
Courtney, a 37-year-old fitness TikTok creator, of Florida, warned others about the risks of relying on a partner after her husband abruptly filed for divorce, leaving her and the kids ‘with no money’
Just a month later, she shared a dramatic update with her followers, revealing that her husband – seemingly out of the blue – had announced he wanted to proceed with an official divorce.
‘Terrifying. I mean, I feel like a little girl who needs their mommy because I don’t know how to take care of myself,’ Courtney said at the start of her video.
A young mother to a seven and five-year-old, she repeatedly said she feels ‘scared’ about what lies ahead and admitted she doesn’t know how to face it alone.
She opened up about the dangers of total financial dependence on a partner, noting that her husband suddenly said he would cut off her American Express credit card – her primary means of paying for everything.
Courtney explained that even though the credit card is in her name, her husband, as the primary earner, handles all the household bills.
‘He told me he’s going to cut it off, and I have to move all the automatic payments and stop using it,’ she said in the video, adding that her husband told her she now has to rely on her own card.
‘What card?’ she added. ‘I don’t have a card. That is my card!’
The mother shared a few follow-up videos, in which she ‘thanked God’ that her husband is still letting her and the children stay in the house in the meantime.
‘I say his house because it is his house, because when we got married, he told me that my name isn’t going to go on the deed because he doesn’t want to put that debt on me,’ Courtney shared.
‘Other than that, yeah, I have somewhere to sleep, but how do I feed my kids? How do I feed myself?’
Courtney wrote in the caption that she wanted to spread awareness and ‘tell the truth,’ hoping other women dealing with similar challenges won’t feel ‘scared and alone.’
‘This isn’t about blaming anyone,’ she said. ‘No one warns women what can happen when you give up your income to raise kids.’
‘You’re not crazy. You’re not weak. You’re not failing. You just weren’t prepared – because no one prepared us.’
Her videos quickly racked up millions of views, and she was shocked at how many women shared the same uncertain fate.
‘I watched my mom go through this and swore I’d never follow in her footsteps. When my husband asked me to be a SAHM, I refused and continued to work… he cheated on me and I was able to walk away & provide for my kids. I don’t regret it at all,’ one comment read.
Another person wrote: ‘I used to think that being a SAHM would be so amazing until I heard the quote: If he can feed you, he can starve you. Be wise, young women!!’
‘As a SAHM, nothing is scarier to me. After 5 years of no income of my own I am a little stressed, it’s time we stop glamorizing this role,’ added a third.
One mother wrote: ‘I was a stay-at-home mum too and one day I came from picking our daughters from schools and my ex threw us all out. I had no family or friends. No job no money I had to fight to keep us safe. Took me five years to be stable and move on.’
On Thursday, Courtney returned to social media, reflecting on the hundreds of women she connected with via Facebook divorce groups and social media and realized that sacrificing one’s life to care for a family, only to be left with nothing, is far from rare.
‘I thought these stories were rare. They’re not. Different women. Different states. Same words: I have no money. I’m trapped,’ Courtney captioned the video.
She emphasized that, particularly in the era of social media influencers, many women have embraced the ‘tradwife’ lifestyle, sacrificing their own careers to dedicate themselves entirely to managing the home and caring for their families.
What looks appealing online, Courtney warned, can leave some women with no resume and no support, struggling in poverty as single moms.
