When it comes to love and money, the prospects for harmony don't always depend on what is disclosed. They also hinge on what is not.
Just ask Leslie Tayne. The attorney from Long Island, who was engaged to be married a couple of years ago, found her fiance was evasive whenever she brought up money issues.
"I didn't know anything: How much money he was making, his debts, his expenses," says Tayne, who, ironically, specializes in financial law.
While physical infidelity may involve a surreptitious smooch with a co-worker or meeting strangers through a hook-up site like Ashley Madison, financial infidelity may involve deceit such as the hiding of bank accounts or credit-card bills.
"It's one of the biggest things that can impact relationships," says Tayne, who eventually called the whole thing off with her fiance.
Indeed, if you don't know anything about your partner's income, debt or expenses, that's a big, fluttering red flag. And judging from new data from CreditCards.com, there are a whole lot of red flags out there.
Secret Accounts
The site's poll found that 13 million Americans, or one out of 20 of us, have hidden banking or credit-card accounts from their partner.
And 19 percent have splurged more than $500 on a big item without telling their significant other.
"If you're hiding some big financial secret and it gets discovered, it's only natural for the other person to ask, 'I wonder what else he's hiding?'" says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com.