ESSENCE Poll: Would You Work For Your Spouse?

Anne Gust Brown, wife of California’s governor Jerry Brown, is much more than a First Lady. She’s also been his top aide for nearly a decade — half of their 20 year marriage, according to a recent New York Times article.

After Brown won his first governorship the couple decided to drop the term First Lady in exchange for special counsel to the governor. And although she admits to finding him exhausting sometimes, today her office sits around the corner from his and the governor is said to value no one’s opinion higher than that of his wife’s. 

The Brown’s story got us thinking, how many people would be willing to go work for their spouse? Not go into business as partners or work for the same company; we’re talking actually leaving what you do to go work for your spouse. Ms. Gust Brown wasn’t a trophy wife riding the coattails of her husbands success. In fact, she spent most of her career as a top lawyer for Gap. Yes it’s important to work with someone you can trust to have your back, but is it safe to mix business with pleasure? What do you think?

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