SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

Are there any long term benefits for women to be married?

Only if they are married to me.

So, I wanted to live longer, and I got married. Next thing I know I'm trying to kill myself.

Seriously, there are a lot of reasons for shorter lifespans in married women, it is very complex. One, very significant, is that in long term married couples who have a close relationship, when one spouse dies the surviving spouse is at greater risk of death afterward.

This is an interesting question! There are certainly emotional benefits and downsides to being a married woman (or man) but there are financial downsides that remain typical to women albeit to a lessening degree as society progresses.

Before people jump on me let me explain! In a traditional marriage which still constitutes the majority of western relationships the husband is the main earner. The wife typically takes time off to have and raise children which impacts on her career progression and earning capacity. This leads to second order effects such as the reliance on a spouse for health insurance and financial support for clothing and personal care items meaning she may not be as impeccably dressed and coifed as she once was.

Not many mothers are comfortable with taking from the family for what could be perceived as vanity or frivolity and these changes in independence and even personal grooming can have a very negative impact on a woman's self esteem.

We are starting to see more equal partnerships these days with men becoming more willing to take time out of the workforce to raise their children, although research shows that women continue to perform the bulk of do rustic duties regardless of their employment status.

Edited to correct autocorrect!

[This message edited by nolight at 6:06 AM, October 1st (Wednesday)]

In my situation even when I was working 40 - 50 hours I was primarily in charge of keeping our home clean, running errands and getting the kids to their activities. I would work 12 hour days and still have to cook and clean. He was asleep on the couch getting in his afternoon nap. Because we both agreed (and I bought into the idea) that it was critical to have one parent at home with the kids while the other one worked. Sixteen years later my work experience lands me a minimum wage job just like my daughter could get. I went from a promising career in health administration to baking in a bakery for $7.25 an hour. I never made that so little since I was 16 years old. The OW dressed nicely and was fun. I was a house wife and exhausted. Her youngest child was a Junior in High School and my youngest was 6 years old. We were happily married for a very long time until he started living a single life. The outside world of marriage was more fun, care free and enticing. I really feel like I got the short end of the stick out of my marriage. The pain of the A outweighs the years of a good marriage. Especially now that he tells me we had major problems. I thought he was happy. He told me he was. The only benefit I see are my kids. There smiles and hugs are what is helping me heal through all of this.

Hooray for traditional gender roles, where anything you do outside of your little box doesn't count for jack shit.

Fact: My penis is 7" shorter than the average because I do most of the housework.