Blogs and Stories
The Shelf Life of a Trophy Wife
Real-estate magnate Donald Trump’s most famous trophy wife (he is still married to his most recent), Marla Maples, only walked away from their six-year union with about $1 million, but with enough property and child support to keep her in high heels and private jets for the rest of her life, in addition to the titles of socialite, actress, and spiritual adviser. “Golddigger” was among the kinder epithets used to describe the second marriage of Paul McCartney to former waitress and ski instructor turned model Heather Mills. But the often contemptuous blonde was paid dearly for enduring the six years of criticism from Beatle fans over the 26-year age gap between the two.
They merely have to grin and bear it for less than a decade—kiss some wrinkly ass, smile pretty, maybe give the old guy a roll in the sack, and they will walk away with a more secure future than a Wharton School graduate.
After a wicked and highly publicized divorce, during which Mills famously doused McCartney’s divorce lawyer with a cup of water in the courtroom, she received a lump sum payment of around $50 million in addition to $35,000 a year in support.
And in the ongoing high-profile split between United Technologies Corp. Chairman George David, 66, and his estranged wife, former Swedish socialite Marie Douglas-David, 36, she claims she deserves more than the roughly $43 million set out in the couple's post-nuptial agreement for six years of marriage. She wants to walk away with at least $100 million in cash plus $130,000 a month in support. Mrs. Douglas-David’s weekly expenses include $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, $8,000 for travel, $700 for limousine services, $2,209 for an assistant, $1,570 for horse care and $600 for flowers.
Call them bimbos all you want, but these ladies have enough brains to realize that while the rest of us are slaving away at assistant jobs in our 20s, living in tiny shared apartments and blowing thousands on higher education that will ultimately only catapult us to the upper middle class. They merely have to grin and bear it for less than a decade—kiss some wrinkly ass, smile pretty, and pose for pictures. Maybe, pop a Valium and give the old guy a roll in the sack once a week (month?), and they will walk away with a more secure future than a Wharton School graduate.
These women will always have the last laugh.
Johanna Piazza wrote the Full Disclosure column for the New York Daily News. A master's candidate in religious studies at NYU, she has contributed to the New York Times, Glamour, Blender, and is a regular contributor to CNN.
10 Power Food Combos
Divya Gugnani is the CEO and founder of BehindtheBurner.com, an emerging culinary media brand that creates expert-based content about food, wine, mixology, and nutrition.
How Obama Wins in 2012
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono.
Cashing In on Coming Out
Johanna Piazza wrote the Full Disclosure column for the New York Daily News. A Masters candidate in Religious Studies at NYU, she has contributed to the New York Times, Glamour, Blender, and is a regular contributor to CNN.
Inside America's Holiest University
Johanna Piazza wrote the Full Disclosure column for the New York Daily News. A Masters candidate in Religious Studies at NYU, she has contributed to the New York Times, Glamour, Blender, and is a regular contributor to CNN.
Turning Pounds Into Dollars
Johanna Piazza wrote the Full Disclosure column for the New York Daily News. A Masters candidate in Religious Studies at NYU, she has contributed to the New York Times, Glamour, Blender, and is a regular contributor to CNN.
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.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.