Arts & Culture

Is marriage worth it? Single women say no.

By Brittany Luse,

Corey Bridges, Neena Pathak

Published March 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM CDT

Why don't women want to get married as much as men?

It's hard out there for single women who date men. You've maybe heard friends complaining about the dating pool, or perhaps you yourself are navigating its murky waters. According to economics reporter Rachel Wolfe at The Wall Street Journal, American women are giving up on marriage, with only 34% of single women looking for romance, versus 54% of single men.

Brittany is joined by Rachel, alongside Minda Honey, author of her memoir, The Heartbreak Years. Together they talk about the key reasons why women are less and less interested in the prospect of dating, let alone getting married.

Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus content. Join NPR+ today.

Tags

Brittany Luse

Brittany Luse is an award-winning journalist, on-air host, and cultural critic. She is the host of It's Been a Minute and For Colored Nerds. Previously Luse hosted The Nod and Sampler podcasts, and co-hosted and executive produced The Nod with Brittany and Eric, a daily streaming show. She's written for Vulture and Harper's Bazaar, among others, and edited for the podcasts Planet Money and Not Past It. Luse and her work have been profiled by publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vulture, and Teen Vogue.

Corey Bridges

Corey Bridges is an assistant producer at NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. Bridges enjoys covering stories ranging from public policy to the economics of sports. At The Indicator, he has worked on stories about how certain environmental regulations can impede climate progress and others about how college athletes are taking advantage of their name, image and likeness.

Neena Pathak