Strong women only marry weak men.

Attributed to Bette Davis, the line is a barbed, paradoxical generalization about gender and power in heterosexual marriage. It suggests that a woman with forceful will, independence, or public authority may end up paired with a man who is comparatively pliant—either because stronger men resist being overshadowed, or because social expectations pressure women to temper their strength by choosing (or being left with) less dominant partners. Read as satire, it also critiques a culture that treats female strength as incompatible with “normal” romance, turning the institution of marriage into a negotiation over ego and control rather than mutual respect.