“I need a prenup so strong that only God himself can break it.” – Lisa K. Stephenson
Money, power, relationships, and long-term strategy—this is how marriage becomes a structured decision rather than just an emotional one. With Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns preparing to walk down the aisle, one question many people had after seeing the bride-to-be’s engagement photos was, “Will they have a prenup?”
A prenuptial agreement is a legally binding contract created by a couple before marriage that outlines how assets, debts, and spousal support will be handled if the marriage ends in divorce or death. Many couples pair their prenups with services like Norient, which can also assist with estate planning. But just how important is a prenup? Important enough that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott reportedly called off his engagement to fiancée Sarah Jane Ramos shortly before their scheduled April 2026 wedding, with reports citing a dispute over a prenuptial agreement, among other factors.
It is widely understood that when wealthy individuals prepare for marriage, they are not relying on emotion alone. They have brands to protect, assets to keep intact, and wealth they do not want to risk simply because a relationship ends. Believe it or not, there are surviving spouses right now collecting monthly payments from a decedent’s estate due to prenuptial agreements signed long before they said “I do.” Marriage among the wealthy begins with asset protection, not emotion. For the average person, the question is, “Do we love each other enough to get married?” For the wealthy, it is, “How do we protect what exists before we merge anything?” The key takeaway is this: while love may start a relationship, structure is what sustains it.
Lower, and some upper-middle-class couples sometimes view prenups as a sign that one partner is planning for divorce before the marriage even begins, but that perception is far from accurate. Prenups remove ambiguity. While some agreements may be challenged, success often comes down to having strong legal representation, a well-drafted document, and ensuring that both parties enter the agreement with independent counsel and a clear, sound mind. Wealthy individuals treat uncertainty as risk, and risk must be managed upfront. In some cases, they transfer assets into trusts or into the names of family members before marriage. This, too, is a strategy used to protect wealth and avoid financial loss if the relationship does not work out.
The wealthy approach marriage with a mindset that many may not fully understand and sometimes misinterpret as cold. In reality, they prioritize money management, privacy, and planning for the unknown. This is one reason they often choose partners who align with their lifestyle expectations. For example, someone working a traditional 9-to-5 job as a court clerk has a predictable schedule and stable income, making it easier to plan their life around consistent free time. In contrast, many high-net-worth individuals operate on unpredictable schedules. A musician touring 32 cities, for instance, does not have the flexibility for routine, day-to-day availability.
To avoid this kind of misalignment, many wealthy individuals choose partners within their social or professional networks—people who already understand and operate within similar demands, expectations, and lifestyles. A divorce can happen between a basketball player and a teacher simply because she wants him to spend more time with her. If he cannot meet that expectation, should he then be responsible for financially supporting her for the rest of her life, paying a fixed amount of money because he was working to earn it while she was unhappy and now wants a divorce? Perhaps not. It does not sound like a fair exchange, and the wealthy are well aware of this.
Remember the woman mentioned earlier. She is receiving a fixed income of $10,000 a month from her late husband’s estate. Even in death, he is still writing her a check. This is precisely why marriage is immediately integrated into estate planning. It triggers updates to wills and trusts, changes in beneficiaries, tax planning strategies, and long-term inheritance structuring.
Take Jennifer Tilly as another example of an ex-wife still benefiting financially after a marriage ends. Tilly was married to Sam Simon, the co-creator of The Simpsons, from 1984 to 1991. As part of their divorce settlement, she receives 30% of Simon’s net proceeds from the show, which earns her millions annually. According to Tilly, this was something she and her lawyer had to fight for during the divorce.
This is not to say that love does not exist among the wealthy. It is to say that marriage is more intentional. Where most people rely on trust alone, the wealthy build systems that support it. Within those systems, roles are often strategic rather than assumed. One partner may manage investments and business ventures, while the other oversees branding, the family office, or philanthropy. Both contribute to a long-term wealth strategy. This is a true partnership.
While many people speak about partnerships, especially on podcasts, those same individuals are often not building toward anything tangible. Instead, they may be seeking someone to offload their burdens onto without offering equal value in return. The wealthy understand that for a partnership to work, there must be a trade-off. That reality is often overlooked by those who do not fully comprehend it.
Even children can become part of that negotiation. In some cases, financial agreements may account for how many children a couple has and other factors tied to family planning. Parenting, in this sense, becomes directly connected to legacy planning. Love should never be the only factor that brings two people into marriage because marriage is, in many ways, an institution and a contract. Why enter into a lifelong agreement with someone who is financially irresponsible or lacks ambition? This applies to both men and women.
From She's SINGLE Magazine, Danielle Wright covers partnerships, focusing on brand alignment, strategic collaboration, and the business of visibility. Her work explores how meaningful partnerships are formed and sustained, offering insight into the relationships that drive growth, influence, and long-term positioning.
