Well I guess not all women are driven by the desire for money. Or at least it is not a part of their decision making process when it comes to accepting or choosing a partner. As I said, in our case it was, and still is, love. If you take a desire for money and children out of the equation, that still leaves a lot of mutual benefits in being married. Company, kindness, care, respect, fun, affection, sex,...What makes women fall for older men? Maybe they know better how to treat a woman from experience. If you take age differences out of the equation as well, then what is left is the things I mentioned above, plus compatibility. Re your last observation, For fifteen years after my second disastrous marriage, I intentionally had nothing to do with women. And I do believe that that is a very common reaction for men. Then quite by chance I met my present wife and something clicked. But that does not happen for lots of men (and women BTW). And as I had no money left and no desire for more children, I knew that she wanted to be with me for all the right reasons, the main one being love. I’m still an optimistic romantic, but not all men are, or they got too badly burned in their previous marriages. Going back to the question of income, I have found ways to supplement mine, like writing on Medium, and make a significant contribution to our expenses. I hope this answers your questions.