Apparently they would have literally dropped off had his wife earned more money than him
He seems not to be alone in that attitude, but thankfully there's plenty who think it's a weird outdated view.
As it is, my husband and I are earning around the same level, but sometimes he outearns me and sometimes me him, depending on circumstances (redundancies, mat leave etc) and it never bothered us. Why should it be an issue in the first place? Surely you'd want your partner to get the best possible earnings from their chosen profession and not want them to do worse just so you can keep your higher earner status? It is mindbogglingly mindboggling