A piece in the Guardian by US journalist Stefanie O’Connell caught our eye – and we reckon it’ll resonate with lots of you.
Despite women earning less than men on average, O’Connell cites data from the National Association of Realtors in 2025 showing that single women now make up 25% of US first-time buyers, with only 10% being single men.
It seems that more than ever before, women are prioritising buying solo, rather than waiting for milestones such as marriage and then buying with a partner.
But deeper than that, some men just don’t seem to like it…
There’s “Tonya”, a 36-year-old who bought her own flat while she was single, then the men she dated started acting weird about it. Tonya felt that it was an ego-hit to some of the men, as if she was somehow trying to emasculate them.
Tiffany is another woman who’d received backlash from men when they knew she was buying a home, with them saying “If you buy that house, what’s a guy going to do for you?”
Stefanie’s piece, which we’ve only shared a little of here and is well worth a read, also revealed higher rates of infidelity and other abuse when a female earns more or has more wealth.
While it’s not all men of course, it’s still a shame to see some men reacting negatively to a woman’s financial independence.
What do the men in your life think?
We asked you to ask the men in your life what they would think if they started to date a woman and found she was financially independent – a home owner who didn’t need anyone to support her financially. This is what you shared:
“My partner, 30 (who I own a house with) responded “that would be great, marrying into bank!” 🤣 Sensible answer was after, he would respect that a lot but if it came into moving in together he wouldn’t want to just pay someone else’s mortgage so would want to set something up/go in together.”
“My husband said this “I wouldn’t really feel anything about it, why would I feel anything about that? Is it a haunted house? I feel like I’m missing something, like there’s a piece of information in your head you’re not telling me” 😂”
“My now husband was completely unfazed that I had a flat and my contribution to our house was about a third of the house price 😂 we have an agreement on the deposit if we broke up we get our money back and half the rest if it’s increased in value. Although we have kids now so we look at everything in a “family” lens now”
“This was my now husband when we first met. In his words, he thought ‘holy shit, wow. How’s she done that’ 😂 he was really impressed”
“This is my situation and my partner rents with his brother. We plan to move in with each other next year into my flat. He is proud of me for owning a home solo never showed any type of jealousy”
“I asked my now husband and he said he was impressed and then went on to clarify not because I was a woman but because of my age. On meeting his mum for the second time she suggested I get a prenup! Married into a whole family of feminists luckily!”
In our opinion, the men who are threatened are the ones worth leaving behind. The ones who lead with “wow, how’s she done that?” are keepers.
If you’re on your own property journey, our guide to saving for a house deposit is a great place to start.
