Credit and loans function very similarly: When you put something on credit (doesn't matter if it's secured) the bank is fronting you some amount of money on the understanding that you will pay it back over time, just like any other type of loan. It's strange that the bank and court are using inconsistent terminology but either way he used someone else's money to make purchases and then never paid it back.
I'm guessing Phil is hiding things from her. She's probably a gold digger/trophy wife and marrying into $130,000 in CC debt is not part of that MO. He also picks up the mail only a few times/week and it's full to bursting each time, so he probably gets tons of spam from unfunny wannabe trolls and could hide the letters in there or dismiss them as fake if she asks.
I know there's theories that she is exceptional or zonked out on pills but she'd have to be REALLY out of it if Phil explained the debt to her and she did not bolt immediately. Stronger marriages have collapsed over much less.