More and more middle-aged and older women are refusing to remarry or even live with their lovers because they don’t want to fall into this dynamic again. My very traditional mom was one of them. After my dad died, she had another partner for 22 years, but she wouldn’t marry him or even cohabitate because she didn’t want to have take care of all of that for him.

It ought to be some kind of a wake-up call for men, but so far, it doesn’t seem to really be.