Rooke: More Young Men Need To Deploy ‘Princess Treatment’ Hack

This post is adapted from Mary Rooke’s weekly The Good Life newsletter, which tackles navigating our modern culture and staying sane in the process. If you have not already subscribed, please consider doing so here.

I sometimes feel like I have two different women living inside me. One who wants to be feminine and soft, and the other who is quite strong-willed and wants to be in control. My husband has a lot to deal with when trying to straddle the line between caring for me and also allowing my natural personality to shine through.

As he celebrated my birthday this past weekend, I reflected on how he does that so beautifully at times I sometimes don’t notice right away.

I am a pretty strong-willed person. I grew up field dressing deer and competing in rifle competitions. I was raised by a Marine Corps dad, a mother who doesn’t know the word “quit” and a Texan grandmother who had no problem calling out a lie. This combination instilled in me the desire to achieve, be strong and be fiercely loyal.

I actually love being this way. I see nothing wrong with confident women. The world is a scary place for the weak. Still, the effect is that I am not naturally gentle, even though I always strive to be.

The look I give my husband when he walks in from a heated work call and dinner is ready for him pic.twitter.com/mJbxDa5mPZ

— Mary Rooke (@MaryRooke_) February 13, 2025

Although I am capable of handling difficult situations, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be taken care of by someone, and the perfect person to do that is my husband.

When we celebrated my birthday, I didn’t have to worry about where we were going or setting the reservation. He told me what time to be ready, and he handled the rest. When we arrived at the restaurant’s valet stand, he got out and dealt with the attendant while I waited in the car for him to finish. He smiled at me lovingly through our windshield as he made his way to the passenger side to open the door. When we walked inside, I sat back and let him deal with the host. (ROOKE: Texas Flash Flood Brings Important Issue Into Perspective)

I could have easily told her our last name, but it would have stripped us of the opportunity to live in our desired roles.

Dinner was a similar experience. We looked over the menu. I told him what cocktail I wanted, and then he ordered it for me when the waiter asked. This process repeated itself the entire night. This is just as much a treat for me, a mother who is constantly taking care of everyone in our house, as it is for him. He gets to lead, and I get to be the one being cared for.

However, it’s not just dinner reservations where he assumes this role. When we are at Mass, he drives up to the front of the church so the girls and I don’t have to walk across the parking lot. We walk in, with me leading our gaggle of little ducks. I get us seated, and he joins us.

Me watching my husband fix my leaky sink the second he came home from the airport pic.twitter.com/m1BAvClgxY

— Mary Rooke (@MaryRooke_) March 11, 2025

Once he’s back in the group, I sit on one side of our girls, while he sits on the other side. When it’s time for us to line up for the Eucharist, I walk out into the aisle, allowing the girls to go in front of me. Every Sunday without fail, as we are making our way to the priest, he grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me in for a sweet kiss on the back of my head.

I long for this moment because it’s a tender reminder that I am in his care.

Five days a week, we wake up early before the girls are awake to go to the gym together. While we are there, he gently pushes me to complete each set. He racks my weights and tells me which workout we are doing next.

It’s in these moments that I feel the most feminine and loved by him. Sometimes I just want him to take charge and let me be the “princess.”

I can almost hear the shrieking voices of jaded women claiming that acting this way puts our sex back into the stone ages or that I am a traitor to my sex for letting a man handle situations that I am capable of doing myself. But they all miss the point.

Of course, I can set a reservation, open my own door, talk to the hostess and rack my own weights. But if I did that, I would be missing out on so much love and tenderness from the one person who I want it from the most. It’s okay for me to be vulnerable enough to let him love me.

Every Friday night (when we are free), my husband and I go to the local pub. We talk about the week, what’s going on with the girls, and what we want in the future.

It is undoubtedly my favorite time of the week.

— Mary Rooke (@MaryRooke_) March 22, 2025

What’s happening in this moment is an act of service from both of us. He has to be willing to lead me as much as I have to be willing to allow him to do that. At the beginning of our marriage, I had to actively remind myself that the world wouldn’t fall apart and that I wouldn’t feel any less confident if he were in control. When I finally let go of the need to be in command of every situation, we both felt free. (ROOKE: Trump Admin Gives Renters Huge Help In Buying A Home)

He was free to love me in the way that made him feel most confident and comfortable, and I was free to be loved and cherished in a way that made my life feel like a blessing.

Happy marriages aren’t because of luck or happenstance. They take work and dedication. We don’t always get it right, but every week we strive to love each other better than we did the week before. He did that with my birthday, but more importantly, he does it in the moments that often go unnoticed.

A good man deserves to lead, and a good woman will let him.

Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to goodlife@dailycaller.com. While I can’t always respond, I do try to read them all! The community we are building is one of my favorite parts of this experience. If you enjoyed this content, please join our community to receive the Good Life directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke