Trophy wives fade as spouses match in age and education
Source: economist.com
- Trophy wives - attractive women married to much older, wealthier men - are becoming less common in modern marriages.
- In America, the share of wives more than five years younger than their husbands fell from 30% in 1970 to 18% in 2022.
- This shift reflects women's rising education and earnings, making them pick partners more like themselves.
The article examines how the classic "trophy wife" - a young, beautiful woman paired with an older rich man - is fading from American marriages. It draws on census data to show husbands and wives are now closer in age and education than ever before. This matters because it signals bigger changes in gender roles, with women gaining economic power and choosing partners on equal footing.