We all know NYC is expensive, and more than a lot of cities money has a large impact on what we can participate in socially. Also while a lot of jobs in tech/finance/law/medicine do pay great salaries, not everyone is lucky enough to earn so much.

In my core friend group, there are a few couples with massive income gaps, as in one person earning 3-4x more than the other. Actual occupations changed to protect the innocent, but we’re talking like the difference in earnings between a urologist and a kindergarten teacher.

It’s very interesting to see how each of those couples navigate this differently (I’m really close with one or both partners in each case so we talk about it). As gay men we don’t have heteronormative guidelines to push us in one direction or the other. For the record, the couples I know have all been together a long time and seen pretty happy.

I personally earn pretty similarly to my boyfriend so it’s not an issue, but for those who’ve found themselves in this situation (or know someone who has) how did you navigate it? Did it cause tension in your relationship?