Can Your Partner Earning More Money Than You Ruin Your Relationship?

Even if you are able to be at peace with your partner earning a lot more than you, you might still have issues when it’s time to socialize as a couple and with friends.

Melamed said: “The only place where it gets dicey is if the person with the higher income would like to have experiences that cost more money and the lower wage earner refuses to accept some financial help from the higher earner to join.

“It is also key for couples to be respectful of each other's social circles,” she added, highlighting the way different groups of people may be used to a different standard of experience. Slumming it down the local pub might be cheap, but you need to be understanding if your partner more normally hangs out with friends in exclusive wine bars and restaurants.

Talking about finances and your salary can be one of the hardest conversations to have in a relationship, particularly early on.

This is why Beyer feels discussion of finances should be off the table until a relationship is an established one: “Unless you're entering into an engagement or considering living together, financial conversations can be a slippery slope.

“Be honest, but also have awareness of the status of your relationship. If you're simply dating someone and getting to know them, their financial life is private and should be off-limits until a substantial relationship has been established.”

Melamed agrees with this notion to an extent: “Along with sex, finances can be one of the most difficult/taboo subject matters of conversation for even the most intimately bonded couple.”

But how can couple get around this? Melamed said: “How much of an issue this is or isn't really depends on the individuals in the relationship. If someone places importance on having had the same experiences and income levels it will be important.”

Every successful relationship is built on an ability to compromise, but that doesn’t mean one of you has to give up your lucrative job or turn your back on pursuing your dreams in favor of a bigger paycheck.

Making such a big sacrifice can only be destabilizing, according to Beyer: “It depends on the quality of your relationship. You can't put a relationship ahead of your dreams because in doing so, you're sacrificing something that is equally important to your self-worth and happiness.

“If you're in the right relationship, your success will be supported and celebrated by your partner. In other words, you never have to choose between your career and your relationship if you CHOOSE well.”

If an income disparity in your relationship does become a problem, an open conversation will need to happen. Melamed said: “Recognize it can be a sensitive and emotional topic for some and very cut and dry for others. Try to understand each other’s perspective. It might be hard but once you get to the other side you can plan your life more freely, collaboratively and transparently.”

Ultimately though, Beyer told us no obstacle around money should really stand in the way of a successful relationship, providing both people can get on the same page: “There's a false expectation that singles should only date others who earn the same amount or more. But money should never be a driver in your love life because there can be an ebb and flow of salary and potential earnings along the way.

“Therefore, it's far better to strive for shared educational and work ethic values which put you in a target environment with someone who has the potential for growth in the areas that are most important to you.”