I’ve been watching “The Reagans” docuseries on Showtime, and it is really interesting overall but one of my favorite aspects is how they explore the relationship between Ron and Nancy.

To me, their partnership exemplifies just how much the right woman can fuel a man’s potential and how a marriage can be the make or break factor in a man’s success.

One thing that the doc mentions is that at that time when women weren’t as prevalent/powerful in the public sphere as they are today, wives’ ambitions were often expressed through their husband’s success. It is strongly inferred that by the time they reached the White House, Nancy was the one who ran the show behind the scenes and that both of them liked it that way. Where RR was the most charming, charismatic, congenial person you could imagine, it also made him somewhat overly trusting at times and she always had his back. They even compare her to a “mafia don” within the administration! Very much a gatekeeper to her husband’s power.

He brought the raw talent (and plenty of ambition of his own) and he knew she could help him harness it. RR was the actor, and Nancy was his producer - emphasizes to me how well they worked together as a team.

In the public eye, Nancy was very much the adoring, demure wife; it is very clear that she was super well-respected and influential among RR’s political advisers, but she never flaunted that. She knew the outward appearance (and inward dynamic) of their traditional marriage played into RR’s image as a strong, masculine, squeaky clean, aspirational American hero upon which he built his political career.

I love how she was super smart, his greatest adviser and basically the strategist behind the operation, her strength; while “the great communicator”, lover of the spotlight, capitalized on his major talents to rally support for their message and influence/unify the masses - to lead. The two of them learned to work in lock-step, cooperate, and leverage their strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses to accomplish far more together than either of them could have individually (or likely with a different spouse).

What really drives it home to me as a true partnership that I aspire to, is how Nancy’s influence was not a well-known thing at the time outside their inner circle, and has been brought more to light by historians later. The woman didn’t need to claim credit or pursue a political career of her own. She found her fulfillment in making her husband the biggest success he could be, and that is just so relatable to me - I absolutely love when my husband asks for my advice or support with his career, and I get so much more out of supporting him and helping him grow than I do personally working in my own professional career (which is a necessity for the time being). It feels so much more natural to be a nurturing presence for him than to be out there in corporate America on my own.

Just wanted to share, it is an interesting watch so far and made me want to discuss! ☺️