Every six months there seems to be something strange in the air that makes celebrity boyfriends and husbands act out. In December it was Simone Biles’ husband acting like he was the catch in the relationship, and now it’s Jalen Noble leaving fans divided over his comments on financial responsibility.
Noble is the boyfriend of Monet (Ahnesti) McMichael, a beauty and lifestyle influencer who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 3.8 million followers on TikTok. She was also one of Forbes’ top creators in 2023 with earnings of $4 million.
Noble is currently trending for some less positive reasons for his comments on the Don’t Trip We Got U podcast. In a now-viral clip, Noble said “Men are expected to pay all the bills, men are expected to pay for all the dates, men are expected to pay for your nails, hair, all these things. In today’s economy? It’s a lot of money.”
“And so the thought is, why is that the norm? Why is that the expectation? What does a provider mean?” Noble said, before going on to explain his definition of a provider. Noble explained that, in his opinion, when someone becomes the mother of your children, then there’s a partnership that’s understood. He added that the partnership might include financial aspects moving under the umbrella of being a provider when one parent agrees to stay at home while the other works.
I think Noble is forgetting who actually put that system in place, and news flash, men did. Some fans in the comments across social media platforms were quick to point out that Noble is just an accessory to McMichael and urged him to learn his place in the relationship. Others have flooded his comments, asking who the provider in the relationship really is.
Some fans have taken to Noble’s side, asking if what he was saying was really wrong and that couples should be splitting costs. In my humble opinion, any man whose girlfriend or wife is on the Forbes top creator list shouldn’t be mansplaining the struggles of a “provider.” But that’s just my opinion.
Noble has yet to post anything addressing the controversy. However, this isn’t the first time he’s said some interesting things on social media. In May 2024, Noble posted a TikTok explaining weaponized incompetence. Fans were quick to take to the comments saying that the video gave them the ick and other similar sentiments.
I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting patiently for a statement from Noble or McMichael because as men like Jonathan Owens have shown us in the past, they really are “unbothered” when it comes to making comments that could be perceived as disrespecting their wives or girlfriends.
As we’ve said before, women are constantly celebrating men’s achievements. But maybe, just maybe, men should stay silent on topics like “the unfairness of being the provider” when their partner is clearly the more successful person in the duo.