Hello everyone! I work in a male-dominated industry and hear a lot of conversations about things that my coworkers say about their wives and girlfriends. A LOT of it are all things we discuss regularly, but I thought I'd make a list to share what I've heard directly from the horse's mouth:

  1. They do not want the weight of your debt to fall on their shoulders. This includes student loans. If you took out a lot of debt, even if it was in order to better yourself, don't expect that your man will be happy if you suddenly want to stay at home. After all, you took out those debts because you were planning on being able to pay them yourself.
  2. A clean house, means a happy spouse. Some of my coworkers do have wives that work less or not at all, and yet comment that the first thing they have to do when they get home is dishes, vacuuming, laundry, etc. Not a single one of them expects the house to be perfect at all times, but they can't understand why they have to pick-up the second they get home when their wife was home all day.
  3. Food is the way to their hearts. Two of our older managers have wives that pack their lunches every day, not once have they ever had anything negative to say about their wives. In fact they often speak very fondly of their wives, and clearly cherish them very dearly. The rest of my male counterparts do not show this much affection publicly, while they might not say anything negative about their wives they don't say anything positive either.
  4. When you're stressed, they're stressed. They work long hours and when they come home and you're not happy, they feel that negativity tenfold. Some of my coworkers have given up on trying to solve the endless stresses at home, and stay at work long past having anything to actually work on because they dread returning home.
  5. They like displays of affection. Cute text messages, love note snuck into their coat pockets, a container of brownies to take to work, surprising them with lunch, etc. It is amazing how much little things can brighten a man's week.
  6. Men like to have the opportunity to wow you. Many of my male coworkers compete with each other to see who can give their wives the most romantic surprises, they want to be the ones to initiate dates and surprises.
  7. They want to be relied on, but that doesn't mean carrying dead weight. Men are fixers, when there's a problem they want to fix it. This is part of why endless stresses and complaining at home is so hard on them, because it demonstrates not that you're relying on them but that instead you've become a ball and chain that contributes nothing and can't be solved.
  8. Men like having their ego stroked. Compliment them when they act, even if it's for little things. My male coworkers hold being handy and considered capable in very high regard at work and at home. They want you to think they're good at what they do and to admire their hard work.

These are the most common things that they discuss, and they all boil down to exactly what RPW teaches. None of them expect their SOs to be perfect but what would you rather be: the SO who is spoken about like the best prize your man has ever won or the SO he has nothing to say about? So keep him fed, the house clean, and affirm him with appreciation, and he'll be ten times happier!