Only one of these myths is related to money.

Single men can lean into their evolutionary psychology bullshit if it makes them feel less displaced, but the painful truth is that in today’s world, many single moms don’t need a replacement father. This assumption that there will be missing “care” from a child’s life also assumes that the father of our children is missing. For many of us, he is not. My ex-husband is one of my best friends, and we co-parent with a 50/50 schedule. Most blue states push for a 50/50 co-parenting schedule, so my situation (and all my friend’s) is not an anomaly.

These dire Lifetime Movie scenarios of lone children not having anyone to hit a ball around with are only true when the father has left the building. Single men do themselves a disservice to assume every single mom needs a replacement father for her kids. Sorry, those shoes are already filled.

But that’s what is really at the heart of this fear. Around the age of 35, the odds of a man meeting a childless woman within his age range grow narrower and narrower. But they keep swiping left on the single moms only to be left with a smaller and smaller dating pool. Thus, the rejection and frustration increase with each passing year.