I had lunch this week with Fawn Weaver, an Agoura Hills woman who aims to counteract negative images of marriage in popular culture by enlisting 1 million women in her Happy Wives Club.
She’s convinced there’s a silent majority of wives like her "who love being married, adore their husbands and consider their union one of the greatest joys in life."
In my column today, I tell her story and share her tips for a happy marriage.
But our conversation got me wondering: What actually makes for a happy wife?
A study of 5,000 couples by two University of Virginia researchers concluded that the single most important factor in women’s marital happiness is the level of their husbands’ emotional engagement.
And the happiest wives were those who didn’t work outside the home or whose husbands brought in at least two-thirds of the family’s income, and those who share a strong commitment to lifelong marriage with their husbands.
That sounds like Weaver and her husband. And it jibes with suggestions offered by wives on her website.
The predominant view online was this: Make your husband feel respected and appreciated and he’ll respond with the "emotional engagement" you need.
But how does that mesh with your reality? What makes a wife happy and a marriage satisfying? Is happiness a state of mind, or a day-to-day feeling?
All you happy – and unhappy – husbands and wives out there, tell me what you think.
— Sandy Banks