Supportive Spouses and Their Influential Partners!

National Women’s History Month highlighted and celebrated so many women who are making the world a better place. But did you know that National Husband’s Day is celebrated in April? To celebrate, we want to highlight the men who supported their wives. These are tales of marriage that show how we are all made better by a strong partnership.

The old saying that behind every great man is a great woman might be outdated today, but the truth it touches on is not. Your spouse is important, and when someone accomplishes great things, their spouse has often helped along the way. Based on the couples featured in this article, that saying might be updated to "a marriage is successful when both partners can succeed."

In recent decades, men are more often getting to play the role of supporter to their wives. Let's look at some notable women and the men who stood by them and back them up through the hard times and the good times.

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff

Earlier this year, Doug Emhoff made history by becoming the first Second Gentleman of the United States.

Doug Emhoff is an accomplished lawyer in his own right. But after his wife and Joe Biden won last year’s election, he stepped down from his job. Why? To take on the responsibilities as the Second Gentleman, a position he takes great pride in. He has also taken up a part-time position as a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching entertainment law.

Before his wife’s historic victory, Emhoff was a partner at DLA Piper Law Firm. While there, he specialized in litigating cases involving entertainment and intellectual property law.

When Harris began her presidential campaign, Emhoff was quick to action. He was frequently seen with her, and his social media was filled with loving support for his wife. Since then, he has helped her through the difficult decision to drop out of the primary, and he was a familiar face on the campaign trail after Harris was selected as Biden's running mate.

In interviews, Emhoff reiterates that it all comes down to mutual respect and support in his marriage.

Michelle and Barack Obama

The Obamas have stood out as an important public couple since the 2008 presidential campaign. With the full weight of the responsibilities and duties of the U.S. presidency and two children, they managed to stick it through and make it work.

Barack Obama has detailed in his latest memoir how his political career took a toll on Michelle and her legal career. Starting from his rise to Senator and then President, Michelle was forced to forego many opportunities. With two children, they needed somebody to handle things at home.

But now, it’s Michelle’s turn.

Off the back of being First Lady, Michelle Obama has built a massive presence in the public eye. From her blockbuster 2018 memoir Becoming, to her new podcast, The Michelle Obama Podcast, to her new career as executive producer for Netflix — Michelle is chasing down many opportunities, and her husband is now supporting her career.

The Obamas show us a model of how spouses sometimes have to prioritize the other. It doesn't mean that the entire marriage focuses on one person's career. Instead, both parties will take time with a strong sense of partnership (sometimes years or a decade) to do a lot of support work for the other.

That’s the bond of a good marriage, to know that even through difficult times, the other person will be there.

Beyonce and Jay Z

Beyonce and Jay Z, known as the Carters, are a true powerhouse couple. Both have award-winning music careers that they have spun off into other successful business ventures. And what that means for their marriage is a lot of individual and shared responsibility.

Their relationship has also had to survive the strain of the public limelight. They met when Beyonce was only 18 years old, and while they created a friendship, within two years, they began dating. By 2002, they were collaborating in the studio. A year later, they released the Grammy-winning smash hit “Crazy in Love.”

After getting married in 2008, they didn’t just need to merge their personal lives but also the small empires they’d both created for themselves. Five years and one child later, they released their first album together. But things, as they so often do, got rocky. 

After a very public altercation between Jay Z and Beyonce's sister Solange, Jay-Z's infidelity came to light. The couple were still seen together and even toured together, but the scenes' difficulties were immense.

But the Carters pulled through. They continued to work on their family and have since had twins and continue to create music together.

The Carters remind us how no relationship is perfect, but despite setbacks, a marriage can work if both partners are willing to work on themselves and forgive.

Ayesha and Steph Curry

The Currys first met when Steph was 15 and Ayesha was 14 while in the same church youth group in Charlotte, North Carolina. A few years after first getting to know each other, the two met up in Hollywood. Ayesha was beginning an acting career, and the two started dating soon after.

In 2011, nine years after meeting in a church youth group, the two were married in the same church where they first laid eyes on each other. After that, their lives became quite a whirlwind.

Their first child was born within the first year of their marriage, and in 2015, Steph brought home his first NBA championship. The next year, Ayesha began her collaboration with chef Michael Mina to write The Seasoned Life, a cookbook that spawned the television show Ayesha’s Homemade (later called Ayesha’s Home Kitchen).

The two have often backed each other up in the public eye and constantly present at the other’s side.

Through book and TV deals, a legendary career in professional basketball, and the birth of three children, the Currys could not make it worth it without an immense amount of devotion to one another. Their marriage reminds us that when you find the right one, nothing else matters.

These couples have persevered through thick and thin but most importantly showed us the meaning of supporting your spouse. So remember to celebrate and support your spouse everyday! After all, you made a commitment to each other.

Are there any couples we missed? If so, let us know in the comments.

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