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GIVE IP WORK TO STAY AT HOME AND BACK CUPCAKES FOR YOUR MAN? HEAVEN OR HELL? YOU DECIDE...

By Christina Windsor

There’s no such thing as a lie-in for Samantha Cartwright on Sunday mornings.

She’s always up early, preparing a roast dinner using her grandmother’s recipe.

Immaculately dressed and fully made-up, Samantha, 24, totters around the kitchen in her designer heels checking the beef is cooking to perfection before ironing her boyfriend Alex’s shirts.

Samantha is dedicated to her man.

Indeed Samantha’s life is her man after she gave up her glamorous modelling career to take care of him almost three years ago.

She now spends her days keeping their London home pristine and making his favourite home-cooked meals every night.

And when Alex, a nightclub owner and businessman, gets back from work every evening, she’s always well dressed and wearing full make-up.

“I love it,” she says.

“It may seem odd, but making sure that I do everything for my man at home gives me amazing pleasure.

"He controls all our finances and makes the decisions in our lives, but he works long hours to provide for us, so the least I can do is clean the house, give him breakfast, and have a meal on the table for him at night.”

Samantha still does the occasional modelling assignment, but only when it fits in with 33-year-old Alex’s schedule.

“I don’t have to work,”she says. “Alex and our home are my full-time occupation.”

Samantha is just one of a growing number of career women sacrificing their salaries to stay at home and devote themselves to their partner and family.

In America, they are called Surrendered Wives – a phrase that was coined by relationship guru Laura Doyle, who is championing a move back to female subservience.

She believes that if women give up trying to control their husbands’ lives and stop criticising them, their marriages will be happier.

Samantha says she never planned to be a Surrendered Wife when she met Alex.

“I was committed to my career,” she recalls.

“But after I moved in with Alex, I started doing domestic chores and got real satisfaction from it.

“Alex would compliment me on my efforts, saying that other girls my age were too career-orientated.

"He was thrilled I was there to look after him, and I surprised myself by finding it rewarding as well.

"If he was happy, I was happy.”

Every meal Alex eats is home-made from scratch – Samantha would not dream of presenting him with a ready-meal – and he never thinks about laundry or housework.

If the couple have children, they certainly won’t be hiring a nanny.

“I could never do that, I’m not that kind of woman,” Samantha says.

While she may be blissfully happy, experts warn this kind of relationship only works if both parties believe in it.

If they do, says psychotherapist Karen Lobb-Rossini, it can save marriages that might fail if a woman divides her time between work and home.

“Women are under a lot of pressure to be everything to everyone,” says Karen.

“For some, choosing to focus on their man and their home is more productive than splitting themselves in two.”

Samantha has no regrets.

“Sometimes other women look down on me when they discover what I do,” she says.

“But I don’t care – I love my life with Alex.

"I trust him, and I feel privileged to look after him and our home.”

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How far would you go for your man? Would you give up your independence and career for your partner? Do you think you’d get bored as a submissive or surrendered wife? Or would you love not having to work again? Is this healthy in a relationship?

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Photography: Amit Lennon hair and make-up: alice grebot, Oonagh connor styling: lauren ezekiel PINK DRESS AVAILABLE FROM A SELECTION AT ELISA HAMILTON (020 8504 5007)