Being the primary breadwinner can complicate marriage for a woman, a poll by BettyConfidential.com reveals. BettyConfidential.com is a social networking community for women ages 25 to 49.

The survey indicates that women gain a sense of pride along with financial freedom when they earn more than their husbands. However, says Betty Confidential.com editor Nicole Christie, earning more than one's husband is also "a curse, creating a greater pull of work vs. family and a gap between husband and wife that's difficult to bridge."

As of 2005 (when data was last compiled), the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that about one-third of women earned more than their husbands.

One investment banker sees both the advantages and disadvantages of being the primary breadwinner in her marriage. "I have financial independence that my mother never had," she says. "But I do resent my husband because there are so many household chores, community events, and school events that the 'woman of the house' is expected to do."

"I think all women need to at least prepare to be the primary breadwinner," says a Monterey marketing strategist, a primary breadwinner whose marriage didn't work out. "The unhappiest women I know are those who rely on their husbands to completely supply and manage their financial lives. Why chance it?"