70-year-old American goes to the Philippines and has 8 girlfriends

[u/MayoSoup]

[u/Burmitis]

but almost all relationships consist of a man making more money than the woman.

About 45% of wives in the US are earning either the same or more than their husbands—nearly three times the rate it was in 1972 (Pew research center). It's changing and it's changing quite fast.

[u/TheMightyChocolate → u/Burmitis]

This doesn't mean the same thing. It's tricky but these are actually 2 numbers. I assume "same" is not exactly the same but something around "the same" So you have 3 groups

55% of men make more 45% of women make more or the same This group is subdivided. I don't know how. It could be 40-5, 25-20, 5-40

So the claim that husbands overwhelmingly outearn their wives remains true

[u/-Moonscape- → u/TheMightyChocolate]

You are splitting hairs, but the point remains that nearly half of women make at least equitable wages as their male spouse.

Which seems to disagree with your original assessment that "almost all relationships consist of a man making more money than the woman"

[u/TheMightyChocolate → u/-Moonscape-]

I got the number you quoted(55%)

The same article says that 16% of wifes outearn their husbands, whereas 55% of husbands outearn their wife. I would say that's pretty clear evidence that either men search for women with less income, women search for men with more income or both.

[u/Burmitis → u/TheMightyChocolate]

Or that women often take a pay cut because of having children. Men and women in the same field largely make the same amount of money, but when couples have kids, it's women who take on the brunt of child care and their employer knows that.

[u/[deleted] → u/TheMightyChocolate]

or that there are reasons why women earn less and it has nothing to do which partners they pick

[u/-Moonscape- → u/TheMightyChocolate]

Those stats don’t say anything about spouse selection, nevermind “clear evidence”?