My Boyfriend Makes $500,000 — & I Make $75,000

Often, if a woman has a male partner, she is earning the same as — or less than — he is. And our numbers back it up. In a poll of more than 500 heterosexual women, 55% of those in long-term relationships had salaries that were lower than their partner's. Only 24% of those in relationships were earning more than their S.O.

This, of course, could be attributed to a number of factors (industry, age, location). But the subject of who pays for what and how things are split is a common topic on our site — and in the Money Diaries comments.

So we decided to interview women who are earning significantly less than the men they're with, to anonymously discuss how money, gender, and careers play a part in their relationships. We interviewed a woman who earned $300,000 after selling her start-up — before she moved to Shanghai and began earning $36,000 while her husband made $240,000. We went through the finances of a woman who makes half of what her partner makes, but pays an equal amount in rent. Finally, we chatted with Hayley, a 24-year-old server who is about to marry a man whose salary is twice what hers is.

For our fourth installment of Not A Trophy Wife, Cat, a 26-year-old woman in marketing discusses what it's like to live with her investment-banker boyfriend.