Do you want to marry for love or money?
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nothing sets the internet on fire more than the fantasy of finding a partner (usually a man) to pay for your lifestyle. We’re here to put those fires out: dating across class is rare (we will explain why) and financial differences can hurt the partner who has less. Plus, with more women becoming the breadwinners, are women actually the new power partners?
Brittany is joined by Wailin Wong, Business and Economics journalist and co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money, and Reema Khrais, host of Marketplace’s This is Uncomfortable (which just had a BRAND NEW season drop. Check it out!)
(0:00) The explicit and implicit ways money shows up in dating
(6:49) Why marriage is a GOOD financial investment
(12:10) Why marriage is a BAD financial investment
(20:13) Dating someone wealthier than you is harder than you think
(37:54) Will women surpass men as the breadwinners?
Want more episodes on dating and finances? Check out these episodes:
Is marriage worth it? Single women say no.
Want to date a rich man? It's harder than you think.
Your date gave you 'The Ick?' That might be a YOU problem.
Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.
Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluse
For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, |
| 0:05.4 | investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. |
| 0:11.1 | More information is available at Hewlett.org. |
| 0:14.5 | Since the last time we spoke, have either of you bagged yourself a rich man? |
| 0:18.3 | Have either of you gotten together with a billionaire? |
| 0:22.4 | I believe I am still happily married to the same guy I was married to last time. |
| 0:28.9 | I read a lot of novels about bagging rich men, but I have not done so myself. I am also still |
| 0:34.5 | married to the same guy I was last time around. |
| 0:40.2 | Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from, dating, finances, and the myth of hypergamy. |
| 1:07.1 | By the end of this episode, you're going to know three things. |
| 1:09.7 | Whether or not life is more affordable with a partner or as a single person. |
| 1:15.0 | Whether or not it's fair to split all of your bills 50-50 with your partner. |
| 1:20.0 | And why our dating patterns might be driving wealth inequality. |
| 1:24.7 | So to get into this, I've got Waylon Wong, longtime business and economics |
| 1:28.4 | journalist and co-host of The Indicator. Hey, Whitney. Welcome, welcome. And I've also got Rima Crace, |
| 1:34.6 | host of Marketplaces, this is uncomfortable, a show all about life and how money messes with it. |
| 1:40.3 | Thanks so much. Thanks for having us. Yeah. I want to start off with how money shows up in dating. |
| 1:45.6 | You know, I can remember being on dates before I met my husband. And when I think back on it, |
| 1:51.1 | like even questions that me and the guy were asking each other were both kind of, you know, |
| 1:56.2 | about money in some ways, even if we didn't mean for it to be. Like, I'm sure depending on, you know, like who's asking or how it's asked, like, |
| 2:05.2 | it can be more or less intentional. But I don't know, it kind of gets at how money influences, |
| 2:10.4 | like so much of how we move through the world. Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, I think I've had so many conversations over the years with folks |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.