Wifey vs. Wife…What’s the Difference?

I don’t use my Twitter account very often; however, I do occasionally go on to look up the popular trending topics, and today’s topic was an interesting one – #sheiswifey. Well, it made me think, exactly what is a wifey? Wifey is often used to describe a woman who is a man’s “main girl” or, as it was previously known as, girlfriend. Yet, somehow, wifey girlfriend and wife have all become synonymously intertwined. Hip-hop culture, as well as gossip websites, frequently refer to a girlfriend or baby’s mother as wifey, and even TV has gone so far as to popularize this trend by casting non-wives on shows that are supposed to be about “Real Housewives”. Huh? Umm, did I miss something? Because last I checked, didn’t one have to actually be married in order to qualify as a housewife or even as a wife in general? Well, this is where the confusion comes from – if someone is in a long-term relationship, particularly one that involves co-habitation, there is a point where the two will undoubtedly intersect. But, while almost every wife has started off as a girlfriend, not every girlfriend ends up being a wife, and that, ladies and gentleman, is one of the main differences between the two. We’ve all seen this scenario before – girl meets boy, girl and boy move in together, girl and boy play house for awhile, and, in some cases, girl and boy become mommy and daddy. Now I don’t want to sound sexist or anything, but, for the sake of my word count, let’s just go by tradition for a moment shall we? Girl cooks, cleans, and cares for the kids. In essence, girl does everything that is “traditionally” expected of a wife; however, the problem is this – she is not the wife. What’s the difference you ask? Well, let me explain. While a girlfriend can play the role all she wants to, she holds no rights what-so-ever until she has that marriage certificate. Being a wife has a certain legal responsibility, which includes both financial and medical. If something should happen to him those medical decisions go to the next of kin – not the “wifey”. Also, when I speak of finances, I’m not simply talking about getting money should things go south, although that is important to some people; I’m talking about sharing responsibility for all of his debts and vice-versa. We hear all about the women who want their half after the marriage fails but never about the women who stand by their man as he’s filing for bankruptcy. The point is wifeys, as long as you are free to walk away without having to legally break your bond you are nothing more than just the girlfriend.