phil being seen as "the wife" would be cute if it wasn't so deeply misogynistic. he's not "the wife" because he's pretty, he's the wife because he was seen (at least this is what i heard) as someone who couldn't comprehend talking about the building of his own home. someone who isn't capable of understanding what goes into making HIS OWN HOME. all because they see him as the more feminine one of the two, which automatically makes him "the wife who doesn't know abt hammers".
i may be looking far too deep into this. it may have been nothing, but nothing is never nothing. everything has history and “you're the wife here” is a deep cut, its a deep cut thats still open, and when we say things like that it makes it deeper FOR SO MANY REASONS.
PHIL IS NOT THE WIFE. PHIL IS THE OTHER MAN! he's the other man who happens to be a bit more colorful, and if he was genuinely "the wife" that doesn't give people the right to downplay "the wife's" knowledge and abilities.