1. The Myth: Military Spouses Don’t Have Jobs and Are Not Educated
The Reality: The other day I was volunteering with my husband at Habitat for Humanity, a cause that is close to our hearts. One of the volunteers asked me if we had kids and when I said no, she then asked me in a very condescending voice “So, what do you do all day to keep yourself busy while your husband is on base?”
When I told her that I worked full time, her face collapsed in shock before she quickly tried to recover herself. I’m willing to bet that most military spouses have likely encountered this form of prejudice at some point. I don’t know why, but for some reason when some people think of military spouses, they picture an army of 50’s era Stepford wives, sitting at home alone and ironing our husband’s laundry. We are seen as nothing more than supporting characters in our husband’s story.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything many of the military spouses I’ve met have more grit, determination, and drive than the average person because we need to in order to survive in this lifestyle. While not everyone fits this mold, most military spouses I’ve met either work, are actively looking for a job, go to school, or are stay at home parents raising their kids, which is a job in it’s own right. We are not just riding on our servicemember’s coat tails.
2. The Myth: We All Have 5 Kids
The Reality: There is no one size fits all military family. Some families have 5 kids, some have 2, some don’t have kids and some never want kids.
3. The Myth: The Military Divorce Rate Is Higher
The Reality: This is one that even I thought was true, but was happily surprised to find out otherwise. The divorce rate between military couples has actually hit its lowest level in 10 years! According to 2016 studies, the divorce rate for both officer and enlisted men and women is only 3.1 percent.
4. The Myth: We all get to live somewhere exotic and overseas
The Reality: Unfortunately, not all of us get to live overseas for a few years. It depends on your servicemember’s rate and what’s available when they are transferring.
