Are Trophy Wives Really A Thing Or Is It Just A Big Myth?
We've all seen it, or at least we think we have: Women scoffing at the rich, handsome lawyer's hot "bimbo" wife; guys scratching their heads wondering how the nerdy tech entrepreneur landed himself a piece of stunning eye candy. It's the notion of the "trophy wife," where a successful man is besieged by (or seeks out) women with plenty to offer in the looks department, but not much else. Well, according to a sociologist at Notre Dame, we need to check our jealousy and insecurity at the door, because it just doesn't happen that often.
McClintock used a nationally representative sample of young couples, and controlled for matching based on attractiveness after conducting interviews and rating both partners on their looks. How attractiveness was determined was not stated, but hopefully it was done in a subjective manner, i.e., not by the couples themselves.
Still, the main takeaway is that socioeconomic status is perhaps the greatest factor — a handsome, successful man may have his pick of the most attractive, successful women, but he's only going to do so within his own "class." The thought of an ultra-successful man running off with (or getting hooked by, depending on how you look at it) the hot but otherwise vapid Hooters waitress is largely unfounded — unless you're Chipper Jones, of course.