Driven by ongoing economic pressure, nearly half of adults in the United States now evaluate a prospective partner’s balance sheet before embarking on a serious romance. TD Bank\u2019s 2026 Love & Money Survey of 2,000 adults revealed that 46% of Americans allow a partner’s debt or financial management to shape their romantic choices\u2014a figure driven higher by Millennials (51%) and Gen Z (49%) compared to Gen X or Baby Boomers (39% each).<\/p>\n
This generational reversal directly challenges the longstanding assumption that younger demographics approach monetary matters with greater leniency and fewer expectations than older cohorts. Ashley Weeks, a wealth strategist at TD Bank who works directly with clients on the survey\u2019s findings, said the shift reflects economic conditions rather than a change in values.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a pretty big divide between Gen X and Boomer responses versus Millennials and Gen Z,\u201d Weeks told Fortune. \u201cWhat we take from that is likely these are just a response to the existing stimuli that are out there in the economic space.\u201d That includes things like student debt, inflation, and housing costs that have made personal finance inseparable from other parts of younger people\u2019s lives, including who they choose to date.<\/p>\n
Weeks said he sees the pattern firsthand. TD Wealth advisors often meet separately with older and younger generations within the same family, and the conversations diverge sharply. \u201cThe conversation for younger individuals does seem to focus more around the fact that someone\u2019s ability to survive and be financially independent is an important factor now when evaluating the long-term prospects for a relationship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that older relatives don\u2019t always grasp the pressure younger people are under: \u201cSometimes senior generations\u2014it seems like parents or grandparents\u2014fail to grasp what the younger generations are going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prenups go from taboo to standard practice<\/p>\n
More than half of respondents nationally (54%) said they would consider signing a prenuptial agreement, a number well above what prenups have historically polled at. Weeks attributed the shift to generational exposure to divorce. \u201cPeople have seen their parents, and maybe their grandparents, go through a divorce, and the situation might not have transpired in a way that a younger generation thought was equitable,\u201d he said. Weeks noted this dovetails with broader coverage of the trend\u2014millennial and Gen Z women in particular have driven a cultural shift toward treating prenups as a wealth-planning tool rather than a sign of distrust.<\/p>\n
Historically, prenuptial agreements were utilized by only a small fraction of wealthy couples\u2014often estimated at under 10% in previous decades\u2014primarily to protect inheritance or corporate assets. Today, as younger workers enter marriage later in life after building personal savings, acquiring retirement accounts, or managing student loan liabilities, financial experts view prenups as a standardized tool for establishing personal asset isolation and debt protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy at least considering it, that\u2019s one way you can create your own rules,\u201d Weeks said. \u201cVersus essentially having to live with the default rules in the state you happen to be living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anecdotally, he said, clients who go through the process of drafting a prenup seem less likely to divorce. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s because they have the communication skills on the front end to actually have that conversation,\u201d he said. \u201cThat portends a healthy relationship, but that\u2019s what I\u2019ve observed.\u201d<\/p>\n