Recent research by the University of Wisconsin - Maddison, compared marriage and divorce from 1950 through until 2009, in the US. The report suggests now that women are far more likely to be the more qualified partner in today's marriages and that as a result, those partnerships are less likely in the US to end in divorce. They state that the greatest stability of the couple is when the wife has the stronger academic record.
However, whilst in the US, the results of the studies show that these marriages were less likely to end in divorce than those in which the woman was less qualified the picture is entirely different in the United Kingdom.
Divorces over here amongst highflyers have never been so acute. This in turn has led to many counsellors actively advising women to try to dumb themselves down in their relationships because men are finding women who are more intelligent and earning more than them entirely threatened to their psyche and male ego. Whilst men in the United Kingdom are delighted at the income that a higher flyer will produce in the marriage, nevertheless there appears to be a fundamental issue about British men and their attitude towards a wife who is earning more than them or, who has a successful profile.
There is no doubt that there is an entirely different cultural approach between the United States where success is applauded and encouraged than in Britain. In Britain, whilst husbands are quite happy for their wives to earn and provide for the luxuries that will allow extra holidays, cars, etc, they do not like the wives surpassing them in intelligence or earning capacity which they see as a direct attack on their maleness. Highflyers countrywide have described exactly the same form of behaviour which leads to the end of the marriage namely, that there is a concerted effort on behalf of their husband to denigrate them at every opportunity, but more particularly in front of friends and outside of the home.
Women describe in carbon copy terms the phrases that are used and the disparaging approach towards every aspect of their housework, mothering and appearance, in an attempt by the husbands to erode what they believe and perceive is overconfidence in the wives.
Many women are dismayed and perplexed at the attitude demonstrated, and this is particularly prevalent amongst the age group 45+.
Very interestingly, the age group of 25-35 are having a very different approach to this issue. These couples are cohabiting before marriage, and specifically addressing the issue of finances and division of labour in the home. This means that unlike the older age group the men are appearing to respect the success of their partners and there are accordingly less difficulties about the disparity in earning capacity, and less divorce.
It is little wonder with the approach taken by the older British man that there is a substantial spike in the divorce rates of the silver splitters. This is the group 45+ and this general attitude of older British men is leading to British women bailing out in their thousands.