A lesson for everyone in a relationship - I basically lost everything

I went out with someone for 7 years. We had an agreement in place that excluded a lot of things if we broke up. These exclusions included superannuation and set an amount for the house.

Over 7 years they paid $110 incl bills pert week. This did not increase, ever. They never paid for improvements to the house and only ever contributed 2-3 hours in maintenance over the 7 years. I did everything.

We went our separate ways 4 & 1/2 years ago.and we are now in a legal battle for my money.

I've had to leave my dream job to access my super which was agreed as separate, move from Auckland to the regions, sell my house that I had before we were together (and loose any profit), take a loan from my elderly parents and take a lower paying job.

I'm currently living in a portacom. I have everything I own in a container. My parents lent $10k towards my plight, they are retired and do not have this kind of money. I have spent over 10K in lawyer fees plus the superannuation I have lost that I will never be able to get back. I am nearly 200k poorer because of this.

We have now settled over the original agreement amount.

Prenups are not watertight and can be thrown out. Please make sure, when you get into a relationship, you are better covered. They may save you in the long run.

If you have learnt something from this please donate, or even better, if you have access to a time machine, let me know! I would like to use the funds to pay for legal fees, repay parents and maybe have something left over to have a beer in my portacom to celebrate that this is all over.