Every relationship has some level of financial inequality. It’s awkward to talk about in the beginning stages of a romance (and boy, is it a mood killer), but it can become increasingly relevant if and when you begin to plan your life with somebody. Your salary likely will determine whether you’re the provider or the stay-at-home parent or whether you and your partner both need to work to sustain your lifestyles. It might even determine something as simple as who’s paying for dinner on Friday night. 

Some partners are radical egalitarians, even beyond the point of it making any sense for them to do that. It could make sense for some couples to split finances down the middle if one partner is making twice what the other makes, but not if they’re making 7 times the other’s salary. That’s how much more the man at the center of this story is making than his fiance, who works as an elementary school teacher and struggles to afford expensive date nights.