My wife has zero issues with me buying fishing gear.
She hates fishing and hates the outdoors, unless its for foraging.
See the thing is, if im out in the bush, fishing or camping, 90% of the time I have my kids with me. So for her its a well deserved break.
Only time Ive ever got in crap was when I bought gear before I payed bills and came up a lil short. But thats totally understandable.
Even then i dont have much gear. Maybe two grand in tackle, about 14 rods/reels, sonar, and a bunch of ice rods. Its really not that much considering i spent 5-6 years accumulating my gear.
I feel for you guys that have to hide stuff lol. She probably already knows hahaha, women arent stupid