Originally Posted by Pilotpip

If you didn't know about this before marriage, I would be very concerned. Money is the number one reason for stress that leads to divorce.

I had a significant loan balance before my wife and I were engaged. Once I knew I wanted to be with her, we sat down and I was very honest with her about my debt, and that I wanted to marry her, but I didn't want my financial issues to be OUR financial issues. I spent about a year cutting my debt in half, paying off several high interest credit cards (youthful ignorance comes back to bite you). Fast forward six years, we're expecting our second child, bought a nice house that is perfect size for our growing family, and are looking to upgrade to a larger vehicle with more than enough breathing room to be comfortable. I'm fortunate that we both have good careers, and we have positioned ourselves that we can afford everything, with minimal changes (like not eating out so much) on a single income.

It needs to be a team effort, but she has to be the instigator. Bad advice/poor choices/ignorance is no excuse. She signed on the line, just like we all do. No, you don't need her income to pay it off financially, but you need it for your relationship. With her education, and experience, she should be able to find something that would pay it off in a couple years with good focus and that would show her dedication to you.