You can barely scroll through your social media feed without seeing videos promoting the trend of “trad wives” as opposed to both couples working outside jobs. Some find it romantic to harken back to a simpler time in the middle of the 20th century when wives stayed home cooking, cleaning and rearing the children.
But trad wives can find themselves at a disadvantage should the marriage go belly-up, leaving them with no job and few practical workplace skills. Read on for reasons to rethink this trend.
It works — until it doesn’t
There’s an undeniable appeal for some women not to work and devote their full time to their families and beautifying the home. But without their own source of income, they can become utterly dependent on their working spouse for money to run the household.
When all is well, that may be fine. But when marital strife occurs, the purse strings may get pulled tight, leaving you with few financial options.
Social media glorifies trad wives
What you view on social media is typically heavily filtered and carefully curated videos depicting cookie-cutter families carrying out traditional gender roles with several children close in age, all dressed in matching outfits.
The reality is that those videos you watch may have taken many hours to create and shoot. It doesn’t show the tears of the children having to cosplay a type of life they aren’t really leading. It doesn’t show the inequity of the wife who has to beg a spouse for money for pharmacy co-pays and doctor visits.
It creates learned helplessness
Many trad wives don’t know how to open bank accounts or pay bills online because their husbands always took care of those tasks. After divorce, these women may be totally lost and headed for financial destitution unless they learn how to manage their finances.
Making sure that your divorce settlement is sufficient to meet your post-split needs is vital if you have led the trad wife lifestyle.