Where do practice wives go when someone else becomes the wife?

You know the practice wife, right?

Photo credit: Freshtakesmag.com

This is the one that gets cheated on and takes him back; supports him through college or some yet-to-be-realized goal. She may not even be his real wife, yet she assumes all duties as if their relationship is headed in that direction. 

You know what happens to her, right?

Nope! I won’t type it, but I’m sure you are going over scenarios that include “Becky with the good hair”.

I was going to leave it as a “petty Facebook post”, but I figured I may as well add some social controversy to your week:

“Thank you to all of the practice wives. You know the ones who actually did everything a wife should do, but never became his; the ones who actually prepped him to be the husband he would be for somebody else.

Y'all don't get enough credit.”

This can be taken as mean to some or enlightening to others. I guess it depends on your view of your past relationships.

But for real though, what happens to her?

Does she become the proverbial bitter black woman destroying every male that she comes into contact with?

Does she come out as gay?

Does she display resiliency and fortitude by getting into another relationship?

Does she decide that relationships are no longer for her?

Does it depend on how hurt she was by this experience and do father figures play into that role? 

And I don’t care that women of other races have these experiences. This particular issue within the black community is deeply-rooted through the systematic reinforcement of racist practices dating back to slavery.

This unique conundrum of what the black family has evolved into cannot be put into a centrifuge and separated into categorical specimens outside of the American experience. 

Many researchers attribute the wealth gap in races to divorce rates, but few delve into the vicious history that accounts for this torn relationship. Researchers also like to blame the victim.

While we discuss victims, we can ultimately dismiss the point that the practice wife is to blame. 

Black women have long been the pillars of revolution, culture, dispersion of the African Diasporas around the globe and the cushion between the black man and the concrete.

They really don’t get enough credit.

Comments welcome.