Relationship Experts Suggest Men Need Marriage More Than Women — And Child-Free Single Women Have The Bank Accounts To Prove It
Single women are choosing to prioritize themselves without men, and they have the financial means to do it.
Perfect Wave | Shutterstock The traditional values of marriage and having children have become less desirable, especially among young adults. According to the Pew Research Center, among adults ages 18 to 34, 69% of those who have never been married say they want to get married one day. About a quarter (23%) say they're not sure, and 8% say they don't want to get married.
Despite the number of individuals who are not seeking marriage anymore, especially among young women, it seems as if young men are desiring the opposite. During a conversation with Steven Bartlett, an English entrepreneur and podcast host, relationship experts Drs. John and Julie Gottman revealed why men may depend on the ideals of marriage more than women.
Relationship experts suggest that men need marriage more than women.
"Now, men need marriage more than women need it. The things that men get from marriage, the sort of stereotypical things, are still really important for the man," Bartlett examined during his conversation with the Gottman's.
"But the things stereotypically, a woman was getting from the marriage, she now doesn't actually need that stuff from a man."
Women have options outside of relying on a man for financial stability, making marriage less of a priority.
Bartlett explained that a lot of that stems from the fact that society has shifted in women's favor. They don't need to be stay-at-home moms raising the children, and husbands don't necessarily need to be the breadwinners anymore.
Women are being encouraged to go out and make their own money and nurture their independence outside of being wives and mothers.
Dr. John Gottman agreed, pointing out that a man's wife is usually his only confidant, which isn't true for women, especially nowadays. "Women have much better social support, but men and women equally need high-quality relationships, which is a different conclusion," he said. Both men and women really need committed, loving relationships."
Dr. Julie Gottman interjected, bringing up the point that men often need a companion in a relationship who can take care of their needs.
They need someone to cook for them, clean up after them, wash and fold their laundry, and listen to them and all of the issues and stresses that they're having.
The reason a majority of young men are turning to far-right political views is because of how 'lonely' they feel.
The New York Times/Siena College ran four national polls from December 2023 to June 2024, and they found that men ages 18-29 favored Trump over Harris. They voted for Trump because they felt undervalued and that it was "harder" to be a man. They expressed concern over how they would fulfill the traditional masculine role in the household when women were starting to separate themselves from those gender roles.
It's probably why so many men are feeling the effects of the loneliness epidemic. Women, especially considering the implications of Trump's election, are now more than ever turning away from the traditional values of marriage and men.
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We're seeing a rise in young women on social media in this country who are choosing to follow the 4b movement. Women are becoming college-educated at impressive levels and entering the workforce in droves.
The simple findings are that women are no longer depending on men to lift them up. Instead, they are focusing on how they can individually lift themselves up, and men can't handle that reality. In fact, a study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that women enjoy flying solo more than men.
University of Toronto psychologists Elaine Hoan and Geoff MacDonald analyzed data from nearly 6,000 single adults in 10 studies. The results concluded that single women are happier than their male counterparts in every aspect. Women responded that they were more satisfied with their lives than men and were less likely to want a significant other.
On top of that, women were happier being single because they were more likely to have supportive platonic relationships to fall back on. Gone are the days when women had to rely on men to be the financial providers for the household.
All those young men who voted for Trump, hoping it would put an end to their feelings of loneliness and give them purpose again, are now in for a rather rude awakening when they realize women are more determined than ever to pursue their own happiness and success without the traditional machinations of marriage and family.
Child-free single women have the financial means, proving they don't need marriage.
In a November 2024 study by the Pew Research Center, households headed by unmarried women who do not have children under 18 had a median wealth of $87,200 in 2022 — similar to households headed by unmarried men. In contrast, the median wealth of households headed by unmarried women with children was $10,700.
Across key assets, unmarried women without children were on the same level as unmarried men. For example, in 2022, 50% of single women without children under 18 owned their homes, similar to the 47% of unmarried men who owned their homes. Among household heads, 48% of single women without children and 50% of single men own retirement accounts.
Unmarried women without a child who have a retirement account had a median amount of $43,700 in those accounts, not far below the $45,000 single men had accumulated as well.
The data doesn't lie, and the stark reality is that single women without children have enough money to support themselves without having to walk down the aisle to a man.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.