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The Shelf Life of a Trophy Wife
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Ever since older men caught on that younger women have a thing for money and the finer things in life, they have been getting themselves trophy wives. The trophy wife, a title that entered our lexicon in the 1950s after appearing in an article in The Economist, is typically defined as the second or third spouse of an older, successful gentleman. She is publicly derided behind the closed doors of her husband’s contemporaries as arm candy or a bimbo. Her own friends cringe at the thought of their pal having to hop in bed with such a wrinkled old codger.
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But it’s these very women, the ones who hooked up with a man two or three decades their senior in what should be the prime of their lives, are often the ones having the last laugh. To the trophy wife, the period acting as nursemaid, arm candy, and perhaps even bimbo is a transitory stepping stone into a better life, and it doesn’t have to last forever. In fact just the opposite: The shelf life for the typical trophy wife—the time it takes her to increase her monetary and social standing for the rest of her days—is typically two or three years. Less than the time it takes for most doctors to finish their medical training. Consider, for instance, the five-year union of Billy Joel, 60, and Katie Lee Joel, 27, who announced last week they were getting divorced. In a joint statement to The New York Daily News’ George Rush, the couple’s publicist explained, “After nearly five years of marriage Billy and Katie have decided to separate. The decision is the result of much thought and consideration. Billy and Katie remain caring friends, with admiration and respect for each other.” The rumor mill has been buzzing for months that Katie Lee has been tiring of Billy and has been stepping out on “dates” in Miami with handsome Israeli fashion designer Yigal Azrouel, 36.
Joel reportedly has an iron-clad prenuptial agreement with his third wife so it is unlikely that she will walk away with the Grammy winner’s millions, but she is still expected to receive a healthy chunk of change and the couple’s swank Greenwich Village townhouse. In the near half-decade that Katie Lee Joel spent as Mrs. Piano Man, the former restaurant fishmonger transformed herself into a food critic, television host, and cookbook author. She became a fixture on the Manhattan social scene (where celebrities are often offered fees for party appearances), and will from now to eternity retain her status as the third wife of one of the best-known musicians on the planet. That’s not too shabby.
It is a relatively small price for most women to pay to be set for the rest of their lives. The initial value of their investment, Vi, is only a few years of youth but the final value, Vf, is a life of luxury. It’s a return on investment Warren Buffett would surely appreciate. Recall ex-stripper, Vicki Lynn Marshall, better known as the late Anna Nicole Smith, who flashed her ample assets for oil billionaire J. Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior, and after a 13-month marriage (her hubby died of natural causes) was able to parlay her wealth into a second career as a reality TV star. Smith reportedly never lived with Marshall so she was rarely around to change his diapers, but she contended until her death in 2007 that she truly loved the old man and that money had nothing to do with her decision to marry him, however briefly.
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JoshAus
See where I think your wrong is in thinking most people are calling them "bimbos". The correct term is whore or high priced escort.
At the end of the day it is simply a question of personal morality or amorality as the case may be. I have no doubt they are set for life, significantly out earning their street corner bretheren but personally I'd rather live in a shared apartment and work hard at my education then sleep with someone for money, but then that's just me.
dcwanderer
I don't understand the reasoning behind this piece. Is this what our culture has created? We are celebrating a woman that trades a piece of her soul for money? JoshAus had it right, these aren't women to be admired, they are women to be pitied, and they are without a doubt prostitutes (of the highest order).
schmittyse
There is another term to describe these women. Whores!
Veronicaxy
And the men?
AmiBlue
Can't believe you included Jackie Kennedy as a *trophy wife*.
penscott
Of course not! She was madly in love with the gorgeous, virile young Aristotle Onassis, who in turn was captivated by her excellence as a book editor.
namedujour
You get points for the best retort!
Veronicaxy
You may not remember it but Jackie Onassis took a major dive in public opinion when she married him. It revealed a side of her that wasn't what we imaged her to be -- *greedy* for wealth and power to the lengths of marrying someone as unsavory as him in so many ways.
Her iconic stature made pictures of them together look like a poster of America whoring itself to the highest bidder.
Only she knows what the situation was but it looked really bad, especially as their marriage quickly crumbled.
ColorBox
You should read more, Veronicaxy. It's a pretty well known fact that Jackie O. married Onassis for his money.
namedujour
It's a business arrangement, like any other. The old guy gets to parade her around, and in so doing gets to think he still "has" it - and gets to believe WE think he still "has" it.
In exchange for that, the woman gets money and security. If she's a whore, the man is a sleaze. Let's call a spade a spade, and no laying the blame solely on the woman. They each get something they want from the arrangement, and neither of them is entirely deserving of it.
The victims? All the women who are age-appropriate for these sleazebags, whom they reject, who would make good spouses for older men, but who are passed over with a roll of the eyes, and taught they have no value at all.
kansasrefugee
The other victims are those of us who have to suffer in the marketplace at the hands of these overly empowered men who often don't contribute value in exchange for the riches they obtain.
namedujour
These guys also have a sense of complete entitlement, where women are concerned. Ever been on the receiving end of one? Ew.
drmarkklein
Life starts and ends being very tough for men. First they whack off the foreskin then it's financial and emotional castration in the divorce courts to only end up filled with the wisdom of old age with prostate problems.
namedujour
They can't help the foreskin or the prostate, but they stand in line BEGGING for financial and emotional castration. A little honesty with themselves, self-awareness, and insight would save them (No, you do NOT still "have" it!!! You're just a sleazebag with money.) But, fortunately for young women, that's asking too much.
kansasrefugee
I agree. These guys want to be treated like status objects, and they are very often successful at preserving their riches even when they are ready to move on to the next sex object.
Doesn't anybody want any depth or meaning to his or her life anymore?
UnknownCaller
What's the big deal? Marriage is supposed to fulfill your needs on some level. Men desire sex, women desire security. This equation is as old as dirt.
WorkerBee
I think you hit the nail on the head.
tomthumb
Love the snarkiness of this article!
cullen
Trophy wives are right to go for the gold. So what is the difference if they have to see a bit of poop? Wives of younger men have to put up with a lot of other poop for nothing.
finderj
Trophy wives may wind up with money and position. Let's hear it for them.
Do they wind up content with themselves?
Or do they forever deal with being high-priced courtesans?
And the men?
You want it, you pay for it. No complaining.
kansasrefugee
HI-larious but bittersweetly true.
Intelligence in a woman, a much undervalued commodity about to go through boom times, I suspect.
Twice in the last week I've heard this called "the century of the woman."
TexasLefty
Old news. We all know trophy wives have the last laugh in the end that's why we resent them so much.
kansasrefugee
@TexasLefty
We resent their image, I suspect, and don't really envy them?
At some point we all have to learn to take responsibility for ourselves? There is no free lunch in relationships.
Veronicaxy
When money, status and image are everything to two people the arrangement just makes perfect sense: sometimes I'm sure everyone is happy to move on to something new with a few consolation prizes exchanged.
What really is a drag is watching the fight in the media between the old (less powerful) mate usually the woman and the new emerging trophy and how the more powerful mate just stands back and let the media feed on the rot, or do they feed the media frenzy? Sometimes I wonder.
But we generally don't keep a hot white spotlight on the good people in the world. We're strange that way.
kansasrefugee
What you are describing is a phenomenon of Patriarchy. The entitled man (who holds money, power) is free from criticism but is very effective, consciously or subconsciously at getting the women antagonistic toward each other.
rodtanner
I rather think what we are describing is a logical extension of the extent to which Western society, particularly the U.S. I suspect, worships wealth. Old, rich men want young, sexy women. Young, sexy women want easy money and know their physical attractiveness will command a high fair market price. It's a commodity exchange. Period.
Sentimentality for the rejected older wife is likely misplaced. Most of them undoubtedly married for monetary promise, if not monetary gain. It's not difficult to observe a young man's family and education and make an educated guess regarding his income potential. I seriously doubt many rejected first wives of rich men married for anything but a shot at the gold ring. They just misjudged the timing.
kansasrefugee
@rodtanner
I agree that wealth is power in Western society and I think we (regardless of gender) all want power to some degree, whether we admit it or not.
I disagree with the generalization you make about the motives of young first or second wives, though. I suspect some of them, and the men they married, are searching, consciously or not, for more than a commodity exchange. At a minimum any woman seeking to have children is going to be looking at whether the man will be of help in this, and if all he offers is money, then that is what he'll be used for. And some women may also be be looking for friendship & support, an ally in all of life's challenges and a more genuine deeper type love.
The woman-as-sex-object / man-as-status-object thing is indeed a type of commodity exchange, but it is very primitive.
Although it takes two to tango, male "conquest" and mercantile attitudes toward women, together with women's traditional socio-economic-political disempowerment plus the physical threat men can pose, creates this soup.
You are missing the value of women. Too bad.
If men can relax and learn to interact and be friends with women and appreciate all we have to offer, we can get out of this abusive Patriarchical loop.
Thank you.
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