贫民女子嫁入豪门都被叫做“灰姑娘”，而且都被人们看作很平常的事情。可是反过来，如果一个男人娶了一个各方面都比自己强的妻子，就可能会被人们叫做“吃软饭”。这样的婚姻被称为是“格差婚”。

A "status-gap marriage" is one in which there is a clear gap in income, pedigree, social status, etc. between the husband and wife. The phrase usually refers to marriages in which a woman marries "beneath herself," such as the marriage between Japanese actress Norika Fujiwara and her husband, the lesser-known comedian Tomonori Jinnai. They ended in divorce in 2009.

Status-gap marriage(格差婚)指夫妻双方在收入、家庭条件、社会地位等方面相差悬殊的婚姻，多指女方“下嫁”的情况。比如，日本女星藤原纪香与不太知名的喜剧演员阵内智则的婚姻就被看作是格差婚。两人最终于2009年离婚。