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Smile. Nod. Defend.
The PR Manager You Never Knew You Had
How Women Protected Men’s Reputations Publicly While Silencing Their Own Truths Privately
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He didn’t need a publicist. He had you.
You, standing beside him at the work party, laughing on cue. You, telling your friends, “He’s a great dad,” even though you did most of the parenting. You, talking him up to your family, smoothing out his rough edges in every story, leaving out the parts that might make people see him differently.
It’s not that you lied. You just… curated.
Because while he built his public image on his own version of manhood, you were in the background — gently editing the narrative to make him look a little more noble, a little more capable, a little more worthy of praise.
And it wasn’t just personal. It was cultural. Generational. Women have been running PR for men for centuries.
Behind Every “Good Man” Is a Woman Holding the Curtain
We’ve all heard it: “He’s a great guy.”
But ask any woman partnered with one of these “great guys,” and you may get a pause.