'Strangers' author Belle Burden says her divorce left her feeling financially powerless. Here are the habits she's changed after being a 'cautionary tale.'

Belle Burden (left) now manages her own finances. The Washington Post Belle Burden 2.0The original cheating scandal of 2026 didn't involve a leather jacket and possible espionage. It was Belle Burden, in her now-viral book, "Strangers," who revealed that her husband of 20 years left her for another woman without any explanation.In the book, Burden — who calls herself a "cautionary tale" — also said that in her marriage, she trusted her husband with the family's financial decision-making, even signing their joint tax returns without reading them.Slowly and gradually, the former corporate lawyer writes that she didn't realize that her husband was putting his investments and bonuses in his name alone, while using her once sizable trust to buy homes for their family — an important point if you know how their pre-nup was set up.Entrepreneur Emma Grede, who encourages women to not be afraid to talk about money in her book "Start With Yourself," sat down with Burden at the Washington Post's Global Women's Summit, held in New York City, earlier this week.Burden explained that she took her hands off of managing her finances because there was a voice in her head telling her that even though she was smart enough to pass the bar, she "couldn't understand the complexities of my financial life, investments and assets, and I think that is cultural conditioning."Grede asked the New York Times bestseller what she's doing differently now that she's begun the next phase of her life, which includes her book being adapted by Netflix. Burden said she's now "fully in control and understanding all of my investments and assets. And I read my tax returns.""I'm fully capable of understanding it … and that the knowledge is so much better than the not knowing, even though that was very comfortable," Burden continued, "it's actually quite joyful to understand and claim your financial life."Even though she knows people cringe when they read about the financial mistakes she made in her marriage, Burden said hearing and reading how women have smartened up after reading her book makes it worth it."I did not expect that it would be prescriptive in this way or inspire women to change their behavior on money," Burden said at the Summit. "But … if that's my purpose on the planet, I'm really good with that." Joi-Marie McKenzie is the editor in chief of the Life team at Business Insider, overseeing entertainment, real estate, lifestyle, health, parenting, and our Style & Success coverage.Previously, she worked for nearly a decade in network news at NBC and ABC, along with Good Morning America, where she earned an Emmy Award. McKenzie was also a senior entertainment editor at Essence magazine and deputy editor of entertainment at Insider, now known as Business Insider.While serving as deputy editor of entertainment at Insider, McKenzie earned several journalism awards and recognition. She was also nominated for the editor executive of the year in 2022 by the Drum Awards.The fifth-generation writer and editor has moderated conversations for The Paley Center for Media, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, and Barnes and Noble in New York City.McKenzie has written two books, both released by Hachette. Her first was a critically-acclaimed memoir titled "The Engagement Game," and she also wrote "The Pursuit of Porsha," the memoir of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Porsha Williams.McKenzie also sits on the board of Color Vision, an organization that helps, educates, and informs women of color in creative fields. She's also a board member of The Afro American Newspaper, which serves the Baltimore-Washington area and was founded by her great-great-grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., a formerly enslaved Civil War veteran. Newsletters Newsletter