I Married for Money — Just Like Everyone Else in My Neighborhood

I would do it again, but completely differently.

Created and owned by yours truly, with a bit of help from my assistant.

My husband isn’t unattractive, but he also isn’t exactly Brad Pitt, if you catch my drift. His looks didn’t really matter — as a 22-year-old recent fashion school graduate, I thought marriage would bring me one step closer to my dream of becoming the next Donatella Versace.

We had only been dating for about six months, but my life had already undergone a 180-degree transformation. I attended more galas, brunches, and cocktail parties in that six months than I can recount, and my contact list had been elevated from college friends to world-renowned designers, photographers, business owners, and celebrities. And then there were the vacations — every other weekend, he would surprise me with a little getaway, sometimes to Tahoe, other times Honolulu, no expense spared.

I easily overlooked the offbeat beginnings to our courtship-turned-16-year-marriage, and overnight, I went from drowning in debt to an 8-figure net worth, all by signing one simple contract. Well, one contract and a bunch of other legal papers and NDAs to ensure our union wouldn’t negatively impact his business dealings. Either way, it was the best return I’d ever gotten on a 6-month investment, and I couldn’t wait for my new life to begin.