Career before kids

Chloe, 29, marketing project manager

I've wanted a successful career ever since I was tiny and used to watch Ally McBeal! My parents didn't have a lot of money, which made me even more determined to succeed. I worked really hard at school to get As and I was never happy unless I was top of the class. I got good A-levels, went to uni and got a First. It was tough, but I never thought twice about it. When I met my boyfriend (now husband!) I knew he was right for me because he's just as ambitious as I am.

Kids would spell the end of my career 
My hubby is a solicitor in a big law firm. He's worked his way up the ladder and he's in a really good position now. When he turned round one day and said he wanted me to put my career on the back burner and start a family, I was absolutely stunned. The way I see it, if I have a baby it would be the end of my career. In the job I'm in, it's hard to go on holiday, let alone go on maternity leave - there's no way! I told my husband that maybe when I've got where I want to be, I'll be ready to have a baby. I can afford to wait, but I feel that something is fundamentally wrong with our relationship if he thinks l'd just give up everything I've worked for to have kids.  

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