Can Money Buy Love?

Money is often said to be the root of all evil, but is it also the root of all love? Can having a lot of money increase your chances of finding and keeping a romantic partner? Or does money only bring superficial and temporary happiness, while true love remains elusive?

The answer, as it turns out, is not so simple. In this article, we will explore some of the ways that money can influence love.

Money Can Attract Love

One of the most obvious ways that money can buy love is by attracting potential partners who are drawn to wealth and status. 

Money can attract love by making you more appealing to potential partners. People who have money often have other attractive qualities, such as success, power, security, and generosity. 

Money can also help you buy gifts, experiences, and opportunities that can impress and woo someone you like.

Advertisement

For example, the famous writer Mark Twain used the money from his work to court his future wife, Olivia Langdon. 

He wrote her letters, sent her flowers, visited her family, and took her on trips around the world. He also used his fame and reputation to convince her father, who didn’t think he was a good match for her.

Money Can Enhance Love

Another way that money can buy love is by enhancing the quality and longevity of existing relationships. Money can provide comfort, convenience, stability, and freedom for couples to pursue their goals and dreams. 

Money can also help couples cope with stress, challenges, and conflicts that might otherwise strain or break their bonds.

For instance, the former president and first lady of the United States, Barack and Michelle Obama, have said that their financial success helped their marriage. 

They paid off their student loans, bought their own home, and secured their children’s education with the money from their careers, books, and public service. They also used their money to support causes they cared about, such as education, health care, and social justice.

Another example is Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, who have been together for over 30 years. They have kept their relationship strong despite busy schedules, public scrutiny, and personal challenges. 

They have used their money to create a comfortable and luxurious lifestyle for themselves and their loved ones. They have also used their money to empower others through various philanthropic initiatives.

Money Can Destroy Love

However, money can also buy love in a negative sense: by destroying or preventing genuine and lasting relationships. Money can cause greed, envy, resentment, and dishonesty among partners who value it more than each other. 

Money can also create distance, distrust, and dissatisfaction among partners who have different or incompatible views on how to earn, spend, save, or share it.

For example, Scott and Jocelyn Youngkin were a wealthy couple who lived in a mansion in Texas. They had four children, a successful business empire, and a lavish lifestyle. 

However, they also had a bitter divorce that lasted for seven years and cost them millions of dollars in legal fees. They fought over everything from custody to alimony to property division. They accused each other of infidelity, abuse, fraud, and kidnapping. Their divorce was so acrimonious that it made national headlines.

Another example is Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos), the founder of Amazon and his ex-wife who were once the richest couple in the world. They met at work in 1992 and married a year later. They had four children and built Amazon into a global e-commerce giant. 

However, they announced their divorce in 2019 after 25 years of marriage. The reason was reportedly Bezos’ affair with another woman. Their divorce settlement was estimated at $38 billion, making Scott one of the richest women in the world.

Money Can’t Buy Love

Finally, Money can’t buy love because love is more than just material things. True love is unconditional, mutual, respectful, trustworthy, and supportive. It is also compatible, communicative, adventurous, and fun. It is passionate, intimate, and loyal.

Some examples of people who showed true love without money are Mother Teresa and Romeo and Juliet. Mother Teresa was a Nobel Peace Prize winner who served the poor and the sick. 

She gave up her worldly possessions and lived in poverty. She never married or had children, but she loved God and humanity with all her heart. She said: “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

Romeo and Juliet were lovers of William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. They belonged to rival families who hated each other and forbade their union. 

They had no money, no power, no freedom, and no future. But they loved each other with a pure, intense, and tragic love. They defied their families, their society, and their fate. They died for each other, leaving behind a legacy of love that has inspired generations.

The Illusion of Security: Can Wealth Guarantee Love?

 While financial stability can create a façade of safety, it often conceals unresolved emotional voids. Research from the Journal of Psychology Report found that couples in financially comfortable relationships were more likely to delay addressing communication issues or emotional disconnects, assuming money could “fix” problems.

For example, a partner might tolerate emotional neglect if lavish vacations or luxury gifts become substitutes for intimacy. Psychologist Dr. Emily Roberts notes that wealth can act as a Band-Aid, numbing the pain of unmet needs like validation or empathy.

Consider the case of tech mogul Elon Musk, who openly discussed his struggles with loneliness despite his billions. In a 2023 interview, he admitted that his relentless work ethic and financial success strained his romantic relationships, stating, “Money doesn’t hug you at night.” 

Similarly, studies on “affluent neglect” highlight how high-net-worth individuals often report feeling isolated, as partners may prioritize their lifestyle over emotional investment. This dynamic raises critical questions: Does financial comfort breed complacency in love? Can relationships survive when emotional fulfillment is outsourced to material substitutes?

Signs Money Is Buying Love

Confused? Here are signs you are buying love with money;

• Transactions over trust: They only show affection after you pay bills, fund trips, or buy gifts 29% of high-income partners feel like “sponsors”). Red flag: “I’ll leave if you can’t afford the lifestyle.”

• No emotional depth: A certain Silicon Valley founder admitted buying designer gifts to avoid discussing his insecurities—his partner left, calling it “a paid performance.”

• Financial secrets: Hiding debt, like a viral Reddit user who discovered her spouse’s secret $50k gambling loss.

Here’s What to Do

• No gifts over $100 without discussion

• Use apps like Zeta to track shared goals

• Walk away

• Replace monetary gestures with time (weekly tech-free dinners) and vulnerability (share a secret fear).

Conclusion: Can Money Buy Love?

Money can buy love in different ways, depending on how it is used, perceived, and valued by the people involved. Money can attract, enhance, destroy, or fail to buy love. Money can be a blessing or a curse for love. Money can be a means or an end for love.

The ultimate question is not whether money can buy love, but whether money can buy the kind of love that you want and need. The answer may vary from person to person, from situation to situation, from time to time.

What matters most is not how much money you have, but how much love you have. And how much love you give and receive.

10 Budget-Friendly Tips for Mental Wellness 

The truth is, fostering mental well-being doesn’t require a significant financial investment. 

This article unveils ten budget-friendly tips that empower individuals to nurture their mental health without breaking the bank.