My mom never liked my wife. On my wedding day, she cried: “Son, she’s not the one for you!” I said, “One day, you’ll love her too!” She nodded. 2 years later, mom died. I went to empty her house. I froze when I looked under her bed. There were tens of my wife’s legal documents, dating back years. As I looked closer,

I realized they were all debt records—college tuition, personal loans, credit cards—everything. They had all been paid off. By my mother. The total came to $48,000. That’s when I understood: Mom had discovered my wife’s debts and knew that marrying her meant I’d be burdened, with them—and forced to give up my own education. (https://brightside.me/tags/education/) So she used her retirement money and life savings to clear it all, silently. She had been keeping my wife’s debts a secret from me to protect me, and that’s why she had tried her best to prevent me from marrying her. When I confronted my wife, she said my mother had spoken to her—and asked her to keep it a secret.