He Started As A Stay-At-Home Dad And Ended Up A 'Manchild' Addicted To Betting And Games. Now She Wants Him Bought Out Of The Home She Funded
- - He Started As A Stay-At-Home Dad And Ended Up A 'Manchild' Addicted To Betting And Games. Now She Wants Him Bought Out Of The Home She Funded
Adrian VolenikFebruary 12, 2026 at 3:01 AM
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Her husband began as a stay-at-home dad. Over time, his wife says he stopped contributing financially, fell back on excuses, and spent much of his day on betting, video games, and avoiding responsibility. Now, after six years of marriage and three kids, she is divorcing him and trying to buy him out of a house she says she paid for almost entirely herself.
The situation came up on a recent episode of “The Ramsey Show,” when a caller named Janelle from Philadelphia laid out what she described as years of financial imbalance, growing resentment, and regret. She did not hold back, referring to her soon-to-be ex as a “manchild” early in the call.
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From Partner To Financial Burden
Janelle said that when she met her husband, he was working full-time. Things changed after she began nursing school and later advanced her career to become a nurse practitioner. When their third child was born, the couple decided it would be easier for her to pick up extra shifts instead of him continuing to work.
“I regretted having him become a stay-at-home dad because that was like the end of it,” she said. “Every time I asked him to start working again afterwards, there was an excuse.”
She told hosts John Delony and Rachel Cruze that her husband eventually stopped contributing financially at all. Family involvement made things worse. “I kept saying I was married to three people–him and my in-laws,” she said, explaining that his mother frequently inserted herself into arguments.
By the time divorce proceedings began, her husband had only just returned to work, taking a part-time janitorial job for four hours a day. “As of the week he filed for divorce, he finally went back and got a job,” she said.
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The House And The Buyout
Janelle said she felt guilted into putting her husband's name on the home, even though she paid for it. The house is now valued at about $255,000, with roughly $138,000 left on the mortgage. Under the divorce agreement, she owes her ex about $48,800 for his share of the equity.
At the same time, she is facing about $1,000 a month in alimony for roughly 15 months, along with legal costs and upcoming childcare expenses.
Despite all of that, her income is strong. She brings home about $6,000 a month from her main job and earns an average of $2,000 a month from a side business doing medical aesthetics, with higher earning potential if she increases her hours.
Delony told her she did not cause her husband's lack of ambition. “That's a man, that's a father of three kids choosing to not get up and support his family,” he said. “You didn't cause that in him.”
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Keep The House Or Walk Away?
The financial advice was surprisingly balanced. While the show often tells callers in similar situations to sell, the numbers here were different. Rolling the buyout into the mortgage could work, but only if the total housing payment stays under 25% of her take-home pay.
Renting would likely cost more than her current mortgage, making selling financially painful in the short term. Keeping the house could preserve stability for the kids, but only if it does not become a constant source of stress.
For professionals earning six figures or close to it, having a clear plan can make the difference between long-term stability and years of financial strain.
That is where services like Domain Money come in. Domain Money offers personalized financial planning for people who want to make smarter, more confident decisions about their money.
For someone facing buyouts, alimony, and major housing decisions, a free strategy session with a financial planner can help turn chaos into a plan.
Janelle's call ended without a final answer, but with clarity. Peace, the hosts stressed, matters more than pride. Whether she keeps the house or sells it later, the goal is the same: a fresh start that doesn’t drag old problems forward.
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