I know people don't like to hear this, especially if they're in a relationship, but its true. Most relationships are transactional, where both people are using each other. First of all, they use each other to escape being alone. They use each other to try and suppress the feeling of loneliness that they feel.

Secondly both genders use each other for their own benefit. Women use men for resources and convenience and men use women for sex, validation and other things. This is why for women, being provided for is a big deal, because its not actually about a human connection. It's about validation and resources. And it's also why for men having a woman who is "obedient", submissive and so on is a big deal, because they don't actually want a genuine relationship. They want to have power and control.

In fact, both genders want a situation where they have power over the other person and they go about it in different ways. Men get power through "providing" and women through being submissive through men providing for them and having them think being submissive means they're actually getting the upperhand, when in reality, playing the role of being submissive is what actually gives women power.