I can only guess from my experience, which is that some men love the attention and yes, keeping their partners working harder than they do themselves, for the relationship.
One person I dated, did this with every single girl he dated his entire life, including me and after me. The one before was always the ‘love of his life’ and no one could compare. Yet at the time he was an arrogant, narcissist who was the least into the relationship.
I truly feel bad for his wife, because I’m not sure if she takes him seriously or realizes he is a serial ‘victim’ of his own bad self-interest, never happy and never satisfied with what he has. An artist who simply loves women and shouldn’t be married at all.
Honestly, I can’t say if they’re worth it or not. To me it wasn’t, I almost married him before realizing how selfish and manipulative he was. We are still friends but I keep it real with him about himself haha!
(I have to admit, I am attracted to aholes and always have been, the more confident and cocky they are with a twinkle in their eye, ladies men types, the harder I fall. I married one, too with mixed results. So did my sisters.)