why is it that some men never really want their spouses to be more successful than them?
467129
HAving a spouse who is more successful threatens their masculinity. A lot of men feel that they  should be the provider and if the wife is earning more this can make them feel like they're a failure.  Sounds like your husband may be feeling resentful of your income and success and is trying to sabotage that - you need to have a long honest talk with him, maybe draw up a budget and set some ground rules on spending.
1081458
Sounds to me that they are just jealous. You are doing very well for yourself with or without your man. You just put the cherry on top with him.\n\n\nBest of luck!!
815010
Because some men think that after they marry the challenge is over.\n\nmandy
340405
I think women are becoming the superior wage earners. I saw a stat that by 2010 3 in 5 wives(In the US) will outearn their husbands.\n\nI don't think it's because men are sponges though. I see many more women conspiring to lay around the house and live off their husbands. It's just not working out because women are more ambitious and acquire more skills and education. Men try but they can't keep up.
445049
I guess because it departs from tradition and what people are used to.  The women's movement was only 30-40 years ago, and a lot of people still aren't conditioned to the fact that a woman can find happiness and success on her own.  I am 27, rather attractive, own a business and make more money than most married couples my age, yet some people treat me like I've got one foot in the grave and had better hurry up and get married because 30 seems to be the magic deadline.  The truth is, I would love to get married when I'm damn good and ready to find the right one, whether it be tomorrow or when I'm 75.  I'm just not going to get married for the sake of marriage, which a lot of people seem to do (hence the divorce rate today).
234817
I believe everyone has potential and what they do with that potential no matter how hard for them or easy they can reach their potential if they care to. Some people do lack "effort" and want the world handed to them on a silver platter, but someone who really wants to be successful in "anything" they do, will give it their all. Some are better at all things, some are better in "certain things", but being successful as an individual is taking your ability as far as you can, and never feeling like a failure.
791791
Trust me it happens with older women as well, and not surprisingly there are some men who experience settling for second best instead of being patient. The root of the problem is while we want to have a successful career, money in the bank, a big fine house, and the 2.0 children, we don't want to wait until the right person comes along who feels the same way about certain things in life as we do. Therefore, we settle for someone far less mature and serious about life than what we had intended because we don't want to be alone. We hate being alone, we hate spending time with ourselves, we can't stand the quiet. For some reason we believe that it is easier to be with anybody than with nobody.
641777
Obviously there are exceptions, but generally yes.\n\nWomen are far more likely to seek out the "Bigger-Better Deal" than men.  Men are more likely to "Yep, that'll do."
1033318
Cheaters can usually find someone who has no sense of moral obligation and little enough self esteem that they will debase themselves by settling for 'second best'. However, that doesn't make it right. After all, to me the old "I can't leave my wife, but she's mean to me all the time so please feel sorry for me" line is nothing but the whining cop-out of an immature man who is unwilling to step up and take responsibility for his own life. Oh, and the guy who says he's 'staying for the kids' is even worse because he's using his children as an excuse for his own lack of testicular fortitude. \n\nSeriously, time and again studies have shown that children are much happier and much more well adjusted if their parents are happily divorced rather than unhappily married. So, the mature and responsible thing to do would be to end the marriage first before beginning another relationship.
649448
WOw! Good question, this really gets into the heart of human relations.\nOK, its a self esteem issue, no-one who likes us so obviously and easily is good enough for us. Yet when you look back in future years you probably think they were indeed good enough and an opportunity lost.\nThere is also an element of social climbing involved where we want people who are "too good" for us or not really in our league or social circle. We believe we have to strive to better ourselves.\nI'm so glad i'm married and past all that!! But excellent question, respect.
1021652
The same way that married men do.... they are lonely and need conversation or perhaps they are sick and tired of their sexual relationship and wants something more exciting or different... but afraid to lose what they have .... especially if they are being financially taken care of...
868264
Actually, it has been psychologically proven that marriages fail most often when the women has a higher level of education and/or makes more money than the man does.  It's not just celebrities, although I have noticed it with them as well.
175732
Lonliness is usually the root cause of it I think. Many woman feel their men never listen to them so they go look for someone who will. I wish men would learn that before the 2nd. marriage.
1119170
I think so but then as I ponder the question, I came up with the following thoughts:\n\nThese labels are so subjective. A guy who may not make as much money as I do may be a better manager of money, which could put him on a different level financially. Should he be willing to compromise his wealth because I can't balance my check book? Probably not, but would it be socially unacceptable for me expect him to help me out? Nope. It would probably be frowned upon if the situation was in the reverse because men are looked upon as the "breadwinner" or "provider." Alot of men evaluate their manhood on the ability to provide for their family. Which I think is the source of the insecurity and intimidation.\n\nOn the flip side...\n\nIf the women who have it "together" knowingly deal with men who are not on the same "level" and are willing to put up with them, it would be expected that they would be willing to support their man in whatever it takes to make the couple a stronger unit and also promote a health self-esteem/ego for the man. That is if the man feels the need to change. If he is okay with the fact that his wife/girlfriend/partner makes more money or has more education, then it should be okay with the other person.
1114007
What's with them is the fact that they don't know how to honor a committment. They are selfish in that they guage the success of their marriage on how THEY feel.  Once the new car smell goes away, they think it's time to trade for a new one.   It takes effort to keep a marriage exciting and to pull through the periods of time when things are a little low, which is inevitable.   However, a lot of people are too into themselves and not their marriage.
285954
Insecurity is a good guess. Many of those that try to make themselves seem better than others have real issues with themselves. They can not ever believe someone can do something better than them, make more money, etc. What they do is right and what everyone else does is wrong. Unfortunately I  know many many people like that. I have learned to tune them out of my life as much as possible and when I can't I do my best to keep my mouth shut. It really is a shame because I know some that are worse than those they are knocking and it makes me so ill at heart to see a loved one get hurt that way
603299
Aparently this question deals with the pysche of majority of men. There may be exceptions as well, some of them at the other extreme.\n\nMen prefer dominance over women, and in many cases over other men also. This dominance gives them a sense of security and sometimes protectiveness over women. But we shall take of the first case only here. In general, men are physically stronger than their female counterparts. This gives them the source of their physical dominance. In order to make themselves mentally dominant as well, so as to complete their domination over their wives, they require at least two aspects.\n\nFirstly, men tend to be emotionally less open. This renders them less prone to disappointments due to minor details. This is one source of power. The other arena where the mental game is played is in the domain of finance. If men can earn more than their womenfolk, they can be the single source of power in their home. This leads them to desiring that their wives be financially dependent on them. In the past this meant a preference for housewives. The trend is gradually changing to a situation where men insist on potential wives earning less than them. This has been proved by recent studies, wherein less than 10% of men have considered getting married to women earning more than them.