My husband and I roleplayed kidnapper/hostage last week. It was fully consensual, talked through, with safewords and rules. The idea was he’d be tied to a chair with breaks for food, bathroom, water, and check-ins. He wanted the “no phone, no screens” rule to make it feel real. I was the one enforcing it.

On October 10, while we were mid-scene, the President announced new tariffs on China and crypto tanked. He usually manages his positions hourly. Because of the scene, he didn’t check his phone or charts. He didn’t safeword or ask to stop. I asked twice if he wanted to pause and he told me to keep going because he was “committed to the bit.”

By the time we wrapped, his account was wrecked. He hadn’t set proper stops or hedges. He panicked, liquidated late, and watched years of gains disappear in a day. He’d been using Awaken for his crypto tax tracking...said it helped him “feel like a real grown-up trader.” But when everything crashed, it didn’t matter. Watching those numbers implode felt like watching his whole sense of control vanish.

Now he says it’s my fault for “keeping him prisoner,” that if I’d let him check markets he could have saved it, and he wants to break up.

I feel sick. I enforced the rules, but we agreed on them together. We had a clear line that real-life emergencies would end the scene immediately. Neither of us knew tariffs were coming. I didn’t hide any alerts; I wasn’t doom-scrolling either. Part of me feels like I failed him. Another part is angry that our entire financial safety net was riding on active management with no risk controls, and I’m being made the villain because my kink made bad timing worse.

I’ve apologized for not pushing harder to pause. I offered to help with bills, to sell some stuff, to go to therapy, to take a long break from any kinky play. He’s furious and says he can’t look at me without thinking about that chair. He moved to a friend’s place last night.

I’m terrified I ruined my marriage, even though we both consented and checked in. I hate that I was the one tying the knots while his money unraveled. And I hate that part of me resents him for gambling our stability and then putting the blame on me when the coin landed wrong.

I don’t know if I should accept the blame to keep the peace, or hold the line that shared consent and personal risk management both matter. Right now I’m just ashamed, grieving, and lost.

Our bedroom game is ending our marriage

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