If a girl is working her head off to support her husband so he can learn, then the least he can do is LEARN.
Maybe they have been influenced greatly by the story of Rabbi Akiva, who overheard his wife telling the women (who made fun of her for being basically left a “Gemarah widow” for 12 years) that were he there to hear her she would tell him to go learn for another 12 years. And so he did, without even stopping by for a danish and a cup of coffee.