I believe that men who opt for the traditional lifestyle eventually feel depleted. Especially when something happens to threaten his income (layoff, illness, etc.) it feels like a huge burden to care for a family when he knows his wife cannot/will not contribute.

I've had intimate discussions with men whose wives stayed home - one told me that she has nothing interesting to say and he gets tired of just hearing about her day home with the kids (she worked before they got married and they connected on other topics).

Several others have told me they wished their wife would work so that they didn't have to pay for her - what they deemed - extravagant shopping habits.

I believe a man whose wife is capable of being fully independent (and perhaps was before they married), respects his wife a whole lot more than a man who marries a woman who is incapable. We see this a lot in Utah where a woman moves out of her parents' home and directly into the marital home. Maybe she had a brief part time job, but she's never run a household. And he grows tired very quickly of being her sole financial support.

I'd love to hear your examples if you disagree.