Women have jobs and careers of their own today. Only about 2 in 10 mothers are traditional stay at home moms. Meanwhile, 45% of mothers were sole or primary breadwinners by 2023, up from roughly 11% in 1960. The family dynamic has changed dramatically.
The argument that men only need to provide financially is losing steam. Today, men have to bring more to a marriage than a paycheck. Women need emotional connection, affection, partnership and intimacy, too. You cannot outsource the emotional labor of a marriage and expect your wife to remain in love with you and desire you.
Our parents’ generation learned the hard way that financial stability alone doesn’t make a marriage work. The rise in divorce during the 1970s and 1980s reflected a broader shift in expectations, independence and women’s options. Marriage requires more than a provider. It requires a partner and lover.
If sex isn’t an obligation in marriage, then husbands have no obligation to financially provide for their wives.