Tom and I don’t have a joint bank account; he doesn’t want one. Instead, he gives me money for food.

Until recently, he was giving me £10 or £20 each day to get dinner, but when I said I wanted to be able to do a weekly shop, he agreed to put a monthly amount into my account instead.

He has decided that £150 per month is enough to feed six of us. That works out to about half of what he was giving me when the money was coming daily.

When I told him that it isn’t, he got angry with me and said all I want him for is his money, which just couldn’t be further from the truth. He earns £3750 monthly, so I’m sure it wouldn’t cripple him financially to give me a little more to feed everyone; I never ask him for money for anything else.

Since we moved in together, the children and I have gone without anything other than food and a roof over our heads, while he spends money on alcohol, travelling, new clothes, eating out and his hobbies as often as he wants – always just for him.

Today, he said we have no money, and he can’t give me more. I asked to look at the bank accounts – he refused, getting angry with me for being nosy and intruding in his personal affairs. I thought we were meant to be a team in all areas.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be, at least not in my mind.