No way in any shape or form am I defending anyone, however has anyone ever thought that maybe Chris holds the purse strings because Sarah is crap with money? If she genuinely has a shopping addiction, she may spend spend spend and not think about the cost. People with shopping addictions usually have a whole heap of debt that goes with it. Maybe when they met, Sarah was in a heap of debt and Chris, actually helped her out of it. I'm no way in an abusive relationship, however, my partner holds the purse strings as I've been in a lot if debt before and had poor credit. I am allowed to spend whatever I want, however, if there is no money in the pot, I get told I cannot spend anything. I have my own cards and things, but if I go out shopping with a friend, my partner may say, you can't use your credit card today, use your debit one or he may say here have cash but once its gone thats it. He's not controlling, he's trying to repair my credit score and help me clear debt. Just a thought.