Opinion: Riley Gaines Says 'Call Her Daddy' Marriage Advice Teaches Disposability, Not Empowerment

This is a summary of an opinion column. The views belong to Riley Gaines, not to RightNewsRightNow.

The trigger. Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer who hosts "The Riley Gaines Show," points to an Oct. 21 episode of "Call Her Daddy." In it, host Alex Cooper and actress Sophia Bush told young women that if they are questioning a marriage because they fear they cannot find someone better, the answer is always to leave. Bush went further, she writes, suggesting the fear of being too old or unreasonable for wanting more comes from the patriarchy.

Her argument. Gaines says the exchange rests on the idea that something better is always waiting and that "the pursuit of more is interchangeable with empowerment." She writes that women have been sold a vision of liberation built on career, independence and putting yourself first, and that loneliness, anxiety and depression remain widespread despite it. She grants that these problems have many causes and that blaming all of them on feminism "would be intellectually dishonest," but says ignoring the possibility that the prevailing philosophy has not delivered would be "equally foolish."

Sacrifice. She argues women have been taught to see sacrifice as oppression rather than part of love, and sees a double standard: a woman who gives up time and health to climb a corporate ladder is called ambitious, while one who makes similar sacrifices for a husband and children is seen as having surrendered her potential.

Her own view. Gaines says she is grateful for the opportunities women have, but that no professional accolade has given her what she found in marriage and motherhood. "Hard" and "bad," she writes, "are not synonymous." She notes that marriage and motherhood are not the only paths to meaning and that single and childless women are no less valuable. She frames her point in Christian terms: a life centered on the self is "ultimately impoverished," and love is "a commitment expressed through action, fidelity, humility, and sacrifice."

The conclusion. She says Cooper and Bush reduce marriage to "personal optimization," an arrangement reassessed against hypothetical alternatives. She allows that there are legitimate reasons marriages end, including abuse and betrayal. But advice to keep looking for something better, she writes, "teaches disposability." Her closing line: the grass "is greener where you water it."

Note for readers: the claims and characterizations are the author's. We did not watch the episode and have not independently verified them.