Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Couple,’ a wealthy family in Nantucket comes under the scrutiny of the law when a murder takes place in their lavish mansion, Summerland. It was supposed to have been a joyous occasion for the Winbury family because Benji Winbury was to marry his fiancee, Amelia Sacks. But on the eve of the wedding, the maid of honor, Merritt, is killed, which not only leads to the cancellation of the wedding but also invites a probe into the lives of the Winburys. Everything about everyone is put through a microscope, leading to several revelations and even more questions. One of the more mysterious figures of the family is Tag Winbury, who is married to a successful novelist, Greer, who is quite wealthy on her own. It is the question about Tag’s source of income that eventually leads the cops to the killer. SPOILERS AHEAD
Tag’s Trust Fund Wealth Makes Him Extremely Privileged
The Winburys are known in Nantucket as filthy rich. They are described as everything from “sex ring on a private island rich” to “I’m bored, let’s buy a monkey rich” to “get away with murder rich.” What’s more interesting is that the money they have now is just a fraction of the wealth they used to have. Their house, Summerland, is quite expansive as is, but it turns out that the Winburys used to own more property surrounding it, which they lost over the years due to some very bad decisions by some very irresponsible Winburys. It is to keep such figures in check that a trust fund was created, which a Winbury would only get when all of their siblings had turned eighteen. This causes tension for Thomas and Benji, who have to wait for their younger brother, Will, to turn eighteen so they can access their own trust fund. Luckily, Tag didn’t have to wait for that money for long.
Because we are not introduced to anyone on Tag’s side of the family, it is fair to assume that he was an only child. This means that he didn’t have to wait a day over eighteen to access his own trust fund, which also means that he didn’t have to bother working a day in his life. In his defense, what young adults would want to get a job when they are the only heir to the massive wealth accumulated by their family? In the beginning, this works in Tag’s favor because he can spend the money exactly as he wants, with no one to tell him otherwise. It is possible that he may have made some good investments, which are most likely managed by the people he has hired. This means that he doesn’t need to worry about money running out and can live his life as luxuriously as he wants.
In the beginning, it works in his favor, but then, when he has kids, they get a share of their own trust fund, which changes things for Tag. On top of that, Tag’s affairs and his habit of giving expensive gifts to his mistresses, not to forget his own extravagant expenditures, start to strain his finances. Over time, the situation gets so that it is Greer and the money from her books, which is quite a lot in itself, that becomes the main driving factor of the family. And so, Tag loses the upper hand in the relationship. Once his contribution to the family flies out the window, all his transgressions start to pile up on Greer until, eventually, she has had enough of him.
By the end of the show, it is clear that Greer wants out of their marriage, which leaves Tag in a very vulnerable position. So far, he had been latching on to her for her money, basically blackmailing her to stay with him even when he was regularly unfaithful to her. But with her deciding to call it quits and move away, Tag doesn’t have many options left. She even tells Tag that he can have Summerland, which shows that he doesn’t have much left for himself now. The money is now ready to flow to the next generation, and without Greer and her money by her side, Tag has to bid goodbye to the life he has been accustomed to for so long.
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