Despite the fancy name you may never have heard of, hypergamy is a tale as old as time (including in Disney's Beauty and the Beast). The term simply means that the husband in a marriage is much more well-off than the woman. While this focuses on the financial gap, it also includes education levels and social class. People in the 1950s called it "marrying up."
Jane Austen had a lot to say about it. Now, so does TikTok (it has become a viral topic). Of course, times have changed. Historically, marriage was often more about financial stability than anything else, particularly for women.
Today, the term could be used to describe any relationship in which one partner is more financially secure and/or educated than the other. For example, the New York Times recently described hypergamy when writing about a lawsuit involving film producer David Geffen and his much younger and estranged husband, former exotic dancer David Armstrong.
As another sign of the times, there is another official academic term for when a woman is more financially secure and/or educated than her husband: hypogamy.
You'll be relieved to know we're going to avoid offering any social commentary or relationship advice. However, we'll help you learn that hypergamy and hypogamy do carry some legal considerations to be aware of.
Hypergamous Marriages and Divorce Rates
Previously, hypergamous marriages were more likely to end in divorce. The discrepancy has narrowed in recent years, and hypergamous marriages have similar divorce rates to homogamous marriages, according to the National Institutes of Health. The same is true of hypogamous marriages.
That’s not to say finances are irrelevant to divorce rates. Financial arguments and troubles are a leading cause of divorce, particularly in the case of financial infidelity. Financial cheating happens when one partner racks up bills, often on credit cards opened only in their own name, without the other spouse knowing about it.
The bottom line is that whether you are in a hypergamous relationship or not, financial infidelity and/or financial arguments could lead to divorce. Whether financial conflict is more or less likely in a hypergamous relationship is not clear. The concern from the higher-asset spouse would be protecting their wealth; for the spouse with fewer assets, the concern would be maintaining the ability to be independent and in control of their own life.
Prenuptial Agreements
The go-to legal solution for hypergamous and hypogamous marriages is a prenuptial agreement. As you likely already know, prenups are a contract that would-be spouses enter into prior to the marriage. If the marriage ends in divorce, the prenuptial agreement spells out the division of assets. Ideally, prenups reduce the time and expense of divorce while protecting assets. This is typically for the spouse with higher assets, but a prenup can protect the interests of the spouse with lower assets as well.
As with any contract, it should be entered into with the full knowledge and consent of both parties. A prenuptial agreement could be declared void in several ways, so it's a good idea to talk to a lawyer before entering into one.
Unfortunately, hypergamy and hypogamy can lead to a highly complicated and lengthy divorce if no prenuptial agreement is in place.
Cohabitation
What if you aren't married, but instead in a long-term relationship with someone in a different socioeconomic class? In such a case, the less financially secure partner could still get some protection through a cohabitation agreement.
Cohabitation agreements replace the legal rights and obligations inherent in a legal marriage, including those regarding property division and spousal support. They are very similar to prenuptial agreements.
Estate Planning and Caregiving
While a hypergamous relationship can involve partners of the same generation, an age difference is often involved. In such a relationship, having a good estate plan also makes sense. For example, if the wealthier partner has children from a previous marriage, there can be a battle over inheritance rights.
An older partner in a marriage should also have clear legal documents regarding their healthcare decisions. Giving your spouse your health care power of attorney is common, but you can name anyone you choose.
Trend or Mirage?
While the idea of hypergamy has gone viral lately, it's not clear whether the trend is here to stay. Typically, people enter into "assortative mating," meaning they are more likely to marry someone similar to them, including socioeconomic class. However, hypergamy (and now hypogamy) still happens with regularity. While such a relationship may not be any more or less likely to end in divorce than other nuptials, there are legal considerations to account for before entering into such a marriage.
Related Resources
- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Finalized Their Divorce, Finally. Here's What Happened. (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Former NFL Receiver Faces Lawsuit for Making Passes at Someone Else's Wife (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Hulk Hogan’s Final Fight (Over His $25 Million Estate) (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
