Dear Eric: My husband and I will celebrate our 27th anniversary soon. My husband sends Amazon gift cards to other women for sexual favors. Usually, these favors consist of sexting. I have recently caught him at this a couple of times.

We are seniors on a fixed income. We can’t afford this at all. He usually uses my money for these ventures. I am 68, my husband is 60. Do you consider this sexting cheating, even though it doesn’t involve physical contact?

– Frustrated Wife

Dear Wife: Cheating is whatever goes against the rules of your relationship. Your husband may be confused about what the two of you agreed on – sexting wasn’t a thing 27 years ago, after all, but I think he’s just pulling a fast one.

Relationships are dependent on clear communication and trust. Even if he has needs that he feels like you can’t meet, it’s his responsibility to share those with you before logging on to Amazon and firing up the sext machine.

If it’s possible for you to limit his access to your money, you should. He’s not acting responsibly. Tell him why you’re doing it – you can’t afford it and you don’t feel comfortable with the sexts. Even if the sexts were free, you both need to be on the same page about them before you can move forward.

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Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.