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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

FOUND: My husband covered up the fact that he retired how can i reboot open communication - What They Never Told You

Painting: Der Zeitungsleser (the newspaper reader) by Carl Zewy (1855-1929)
‘I wonder if it might help to quarantine the questions of '“what now” and “who’s right”, and focus on seeing if you can learn why he didn’t want to share this,’ writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Painting: Der Zeitungsleser (The newspaper reader) by Carl Zewy (1855-1929). Photograph: Alamy

My husband completely covered up the fact that he retired two years ago and has been pretending to go to work ever since. He made up stories about work events. I only found out by seeing the pension payments into our joint account. He is 68 and has reapplied on spec to his old company. He hasn’t had any response but continues to wait for one.

When asked about what he does, he says he sits in cafes and does crossword puzzles. He is always on his phone. He delays and denies talking about being on the pension and any activities such as volunteering, doing courses etc. How can I reboot open communication?

Eleanor says: Oh this makes me sad for you both. It reminds me of people in the Depression who got laid off and didn’t tell their families, just took their lunch in the paper bag and sat on a park bench.

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