Some men bemoan marriage or joke about it being a "ball and chain." In the opening scenes of the movie Think Like a Man, the narrator defines the "three rings of marriage" as the "engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering."
In reality, research shows that statistically, married men are happier than their single counterparts and that marriage benefits men more than women. Other data reveals that married men heading into retirement have about ten times more household assets saved up over their lifetime than their divorced or never-married male peers.
"After factoring in differences in education level, race, and employment, the average marriage premium in household assets for stably married men amounts to more than $290,000, compared to their unmarried fellow men," notes the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM).
According to the University of Chicago's General Social Survey (GSS), married men are about twice as likely to be “very happy” with their lives, compared to unmarried men. And that's especially true for married fathers. In a separate YouGov survey, nearly 60% of married dads said their lives are meaningful “most of the time,” compared to only 38% of single childless men.
And, it would seem that marriage has benefits when it comes to men's health too...
"A major survey of 127,545 American adults found that married men are healthier than men who were never married or whose marriages ended in divorce or widowhood," reports Harvard University. "Men who have marital partners also live longer than men without spouses; men who marry after age 25 get more protection than those who tie the knot at a younger age, and the longer a man stays married, the greater his survival advantage over his unmarried peers."
Harvard's health experts add that marriage can be good for a man's mental health too. Married men, they say, have a lower risk of depression and a higher likelihood of satisfaction with life in retirement than their unmarried peers.
"Being married has also been linked to better cognitive function, a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, improved blood sugar levels, and better outcomes for hospitalized patients," notes the site.
Research also shows that unmarried, divorced, and widowed men don't eat as well as married men. "They are less likely to exercise but are more likely to smoke, drink excessively, and engage in other risky behaviors," notes the Harvard University site, adding that married men are more likely to get regular medical care and to benefit from a higher standard of living.
Interestingly, women are more likely to end marriages than men. In a 2022 study, the Survey Center on American Life asked divorced men and women who initiated the divorce. The results revealed that 66% of straight women made the decision to end their marriages. Only 39% of divorced men said the same.
“In the short-term after divorce, men’s overall wellbeing decreases more, and they report higher levels of loneliness,” says Heidi Kar, a psychologist at the U.S.-based Education Development Center. “But over time that evens out, and women continue to suffer from more chronic, long-term effects including the loss of home ownership, reduced financial means, and increased stress from life as a single parent.”
