Wife Earns More?

Gone are those days when a man was the sole bread earner of the family and his wife took care of the house and the children. Today, women are educated; career-oriented and can make a mark in whichever industry she feels like.

What happens when a wife earns more than her husband?

With due respect to our patriarchal society, its ideas about gender roles many relationships don’t fare well when the wife gets more money than her husband. Either the husband’s ego might be altered, he would lack self-confidence and self-worth creating jealousy and making their relationship weak. Or there could be that the husband takes it sportingly and enjoys the money coming to the house.

Salary differences cause huge troubles in couples when both are ambitious and want to compete. One has to understand whether it’s “her” money or “his” money it’s eventually “our” money.

Case study

(The names of the clients have been changed to protect their identities and approval for disclosing the case study from the client has been taken.)

Priya and Manan have married 5 years ago. Manan earned more than Priya when they were married. Priya is in an advertising firm and Manan is a wealth manager. He tried changing his job but couldn’t succeed, while Priya was able to change two jobs in five years making her earn double than her husband. Initially, he was fine about it but after a few days it hit him hard and they started fighting because of money. Although Manan never directly mentioned he has issues with the salary difference but once when his Uncle and family came from Faridabad, he mentioned it in front of his uncle that “My wife earns more than me” out of the blue leaving Priya very angry. She felt the salary gap need not be a general open issue to be discussed by everyone. Priya felt that even though her husband does not say anything on her face he is jealous of her achievements and salary.

Money Hassle

The hassle over money could lead to a lot of stress between the two individuals causing trouble in their marriage. Money is one of the main reasons why divorces happen.

To avoid conflict over money, couples need to be clear with each other about their goals, ambitions, and aspirations. Women may overpower their husbands and start letting them down because of the difference, making men feel low and miserable. These differences need to be communicated to each other to get to the desired solution.

An easy solution to think of the income as “our” income and not his or hers.

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All image are courtesy Pixabay