I have been with my wife for four years now. Last year I got a relatively high paying job, and we live in southern Texas, so those laws apply. I know law advice probably can't be given out here, but I'd like to dip my toe in the water here and see if there are any viable roads out of this trap I've gotten myself into.

As I said, we've been together for four years, and there are no children. My wife rarely works, but she's not really a homemaker either. I make the money, she spends it, we both keep up the house, and I get an earful when I don't. She really doesn't do much of anything except buy random shit with my money, and to be honest I'm disgusted I've allowed it to get this far without leaving, but I'm terrified that I'm going to get shafted somehow in the divorce. She's playfully joked about it in the past.

Recently she's made some very obnoxious cries for attention, hanging out with questionable people, dying her hair all sorts of colors, piercing things...it's like she's aged backwards and is a rebellious teenager again. I can't handle it anymore, I'm her husband, not her father. When I try to discuss it with her it ends up in a huge fight and somehow I'm always the one apologizing at the end.

We live in an apartment, and the car is hers, I really don't care about it, so there aren't that many assets. Being unemployed was her choice, to "focus on her hobbies", not to raise children or even keep up the house. I've never laid a hand on her, I've never cheated on her. I just don't want to be giving her 20% of my income for five years, because I've already been giving all of it to her for four, and to be frank she's already gotten pretty sweet ride out of all of this.

I'm never getting married again, this is horrible. Not only do I feel trapped by the prejudices of the legal system, but I kind of feel like I need some therapy. Looking at myself in third person, it is quite clear how she's kept this money train rolling with sheer emotional abuse.