From Taylor Swift to Nicole Kidman, many high-profile female celebrities earn more than their partners.
Their partners – Travis Kelce and Keith Urban – seem fairly happy with their setups, but a new study has warned that the same isn’t true across the board.
If you truly 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 study, the team analysed the incomes and mental health of heterosexual couples in Sweden.
They found that women becoming the breadwinner resulted in a higher risk of mental health issues for both members of the couple – but especially for husbands.
‘The share of couples where the wife outearns the husband is increasing globally,’ the researchers said.
‘Crossing the threshold where the wife starts earning more significantly increases the probability of receiving a mental health diagnosis.
‘In the most restrictive specification, the likelihood increases by approximately 8% for the whole sample and by 11% for men.’
If you truly want a happy life, scientists from the University of Durham say it’s better for the male partner to be the higher earner. Pictured: Taylor Swift and Travic Kelce
Women becoming the breadwinner can result in a higher risk of mental health issues for both members of the couple – but especially for husbands
Around the world, the share of married couples where the wife is the primary earner is increasing.
In their study, published in The Economic Journal, the researchers, led by Demid Getik, said: ‘In both the United States and Sweden, it has increased by approximately 25% since the start of the millennium.’
Despite this rising trend, until now there has been little research on the mental health implications.
In their new study, the researchers set out to bridge this gap.
The team focused on heterosexual couples in Sweden, who married in 2021 and had an average age of 37.
These couples were observed over a 10-year period or until they divorced – a scenario which occurred in around 20 per cent of couples surveyed.
The analysis revealed that the participants’ mental health was positively associated with both their own, and their spousal absolute income.
However, this relationship was negative in regard to the wife’s income.
Around the world, the share of married couples where the wife is the primary earner is increasing. Pictured: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
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When a wife started earning more than her husband, the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis increased by eight per cent for the whole sample, and by 11 per cent for men.
Amongst the male participants, this increase was mainly driven 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 crucial outcome linked to a host of important economic and life outcomes,’ the researchers said.
‘In this study, I find tangible evidence of relative income in couples playing an important role in mental health outcomes, even in an ostensibly 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 downside of register data is that it doesn’t inform us much about people’s perception and attitudes, like survey data could.
‘From earlier literature, it seems, however, it’s likely due to a consistent preference for the male partner to earn more in a couple.
‘It’s a bit more difficult to say to what extent that preferences comes from women or men.
‘What is interesting though is that you still see this in a country like Sweden, which prides itself on its gender parity.’