Wealthy wife, unhappy life: Men are sadder when their wives earn more than them, study finds

From Taylor Swift to Nicole Kidman, many high-profile female celebrities earn more than their partners.

Their partners – Travis Kelce and Keith Urban – seem pretty happy with their setup, but a new study has warned that the same isn’t true across the board.

If you really want a happy life, scientists from the University of Durham say it’s better for the male partner to be the higher earner.

In their research, the team analyzed the incomes and mental health of heterosexual couples in Sweden.

They found that women becoming breadwinners resulted in a higher risk of mental health problems for both members of the couple, but especially for the husbands.

“The proportion of couples in which the wife outnumbers the husband is increasing worldwide,” the researchers said.

‘Exceeding the threshold at which a woman starts earning more significantly increases the chance of a mental health diagnosis.

‘In the most restrictive specification, the probability increases by about 8% for the whole sample and by 11% for men.’

Women becoming breadwinners can result in a higher risk of mental health problems for both members of the couple, but especially for husbands

Around the world, the proportion of married couples in which the woman is the main earner is increasing.

In their research, published in The Economic Journalsay the researchers, led by Demid Getik: ‘In both the United States and Sweden it has increased by about 25% since the turn of the millennium.’

Despite this increasing trend, little research has been done to date on the effects on mental health.

In their new study, the researchers wanted to bridge this gap.

The team focused on heterosexual couples in Sweden, who got married in 2021 and had an average age of 37 years.

These couples were observed for a period of ten years or until they divorced – a scenario that occurred in about 20 percent of the couples surveyed.

The analysis found that participants’ mental health was positively associated with both their own income and their spouses’ absolute income.

However, this relationship was negative in terms of women’s income.

Around the world, the proportion of married couples in which the woman is the main earner is increasing. Pictured: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

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When a woman started earning more than her husband, the odds of a mental health diagnosis increased by eight percent for the entire sample, and by 11 percent for men.

Among male participants, this increase was mainly caused by substance-related diagnoses.

In contrast, the female participants were more likely to be diagnosed with neurotic and stress-related disorders.

“Mental health is a critical outcome linked to a wide range of important economic and life outcomes,” the researchers said.

‘In this study I find tangible evidence that the relative income of couples plays an important role in mental health care, even in an apparently more egalitarian society like Sweden.’

The researchers did not look at the possible reasons behind the findings.

Mr Getik told MailOnline: ‘It’s a bit difficult to speculate here.

‘A disadvantage of register data is that they do not tell us much about people’s perceptions and attitudes, as survey data could.

‘However, from previous literature it seems likely that this is due to a consistent preference for the male partner to earn more in a couple.

‘It is a bit more difficult to say to what extent these preferences come from women or men.

“What’s interesting, though, is that you still see this in a country like Sweden, which prides itself on gender equality.”