Using the longitudinal data of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) we studied the effect of both partners’ education and occupational status on women’s likelihood to exit the labour market and to enter housewife status. The event-history analyses show that the woman’s own educational and occupational position are much more important determinants of labour market exit than her partner’s characteristics. While higher educated and higher status women are less likely to become housewives, the partner’s occupational status has a small positive effect on a woman’s likelihood to become a housewife. We illustrate that considering the combined effect of both partners’ statuses as well as relative status differences is essential to assess the role of partner effects on female labour market exits.