I hate shared personal email addresses. In all but a very few instances, I think they’re just a terrible idea.

“Til Death Do us Email”, a recent Wall Street Journal blog, commented on a recent trend of married couples sharing online accounts. From that post, here are two stand-out comments.

Couples use shared accounts to avoid keeping secrets—and temptation.

There’s something seriously wrong with a relationship that needs a shared email address to keep the parties from getting involved in Internet romances. I mean, how does that work?

“Gosh, I’d sure love to start up a romance with my high school sweetheart. Too bad I share my happycouple@nausea.com address with my wife. I guess I’ll just stay faithful. Thank goodness for our email address!”

“If your bank accounts are common, why not your Twitter and Facebook accounts?” said one man…

Unless your bank account wants to tell dirty jokes, make surprise birthday plans, or just plain have a friendly private conversation with a friend, the two are entirely different.

And if your bank account does want to do those things, I want to know where you’re banking!

Couples say that such streamlined accounts can help their communication and scheduling and are a sign of trust, rather than suspicion.

Yes, helping their communication, right. One person commented on the post, telling of her friend who shares an email address with her husband:

I have a friend whose husband forbids her to shop at certain places, so when we discuss our shopping trips, I have to speak in code.

Nothing like healthy communication between a couple, fostered by coded emails. Now that’s gotta be a happy marriage, what with all the forbidding and the lying. I sure hope that shared email address can save them!

Ultimately, though, my real problem with couples email addresses are the images they create  in my head. I see a husband and wife wearing matching wind breakers and walking matching bichon frises. I can practically hear them calling each other Snookums and Pooh Bear and going to bed each night at 6:30 holding hands in their matching footie pajamas.

Isn’t that reason enough to have your own email address?