Are most spousal support payments paid to the wife?

As dictated by western culture, it is much more common that the husband will have worked during the marriage, while the wife stayed home, looked after the children, and maintained the household, thus making the husband the main, if not sole, wage earner in the family. Therefore the husband would be more likely to be in the position to pay spousal support, and the wife would be in the position to receive spousal support.

However, with the emergence of the two-career family or marriage, it is possible that the wife may pay spousal support to the husband, if, for example, he stayed home during the marriage, or if he had the lower-paying type of employment.