Chris Christie Praises Breadwinnner Wife Mary Pat: Gender Equality Is Great For Kids, New Jersey Governor Says

Mary Pat Christie, wife of Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has long been the chief breadwinner in their household. And in a recent interview with CBS published Tuesday, Christie said his wife's role that defies gender stereotypes is a "great example" for their children.

Mary Pat Christie has had a successful career on Wall Street, and has always been the primary income-earner for the couple and their four children. "It's all we've ever known. Chris was in law school when we first got married, so from the beginning I was paying school tuition bills and working ... and it's not something that we thought about or ever really cared about, honestly," she told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King.

The governor expanded on how his wife's example affected their two daughters and two sons. "For our daughters, in particular that you know, your worth does not come from who you marry -- your worth comes from who you are, and when you bring that worth to a marriage, it makes the marriage even better," he said, according to CBS. "And for our sons, I think for them to see that this kind of false macho about 'you have to be the bigger breadwinner, the bigger presence'-- isn't the way it has to be."

Chris and Mary Pat Christie have been together since their early 20s and will celebrate 30 years of marriage next year. The two met at the University of Delaware, where they both went to college. He is one year older than she, and after serving as student body president as a senior, he passed the title on to the woman who would become his wife. Mary Pat Christie went on to earn an MBA from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and found success in trading bonds.

She took a hiatus from her position at specialty investment firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. in April as her husband prepared his presidential run. Christie is currently polling at just 2.4 percent nationally in the Real Clear Politics average of polls. Before working at Angelo, Gordon & Co., she previously worked at JPMorgan Chase, Fleet Securities, Cantor Fitzgerald and Mendham Capital Management, a firm she co-founded, reported Bloomberg.

Before leaving Angelo, Gordon & Co., she earned more than $475,000 last year, according to governor's office documents via Politico. Christie himself reported making just over $160,000 as governor. Mary Pat Christie had previously expressed her family's comfort with her being the primary earner.

“I’ve always been the breadwinner,” she said in 2013, according to Bloomberg. "I really just wanted him to be happy in his career, and he is."

Christie related to Bloomberg a story about a friend who asked him if his wife earning more was in any way threatening to him.

“Listen,” the typically outspoken Christie said he replied to Bloomberg. “I just have three words for you: joint checking account. That money all lands in the same place, baby.”