More on this phenomenon in &quot;Coming Apart: The State of White America&quot;.<p>My 2c: A guy or gal making $350K is not commended for reducing income inequality by marrying someone making $60K. Indeed, if things fall apart, the &quot;equity courts&quot; will divide the earnings spouse nicely between them. While I can understand you don&#x27;t want someone on the street, these things just penalize people for being successful. So it is not a surprise that people are practicing self-preservation and selecting those spouses who have nothing to gain from a separation (besides their freedom.) Additionally, as alluded to in the book above, people who have university degrees have only a 20% chance of divorce and usually, higher income earners have said university degrees.