Thanks, asshole, for providing me with a term that there is no way in hell I can refrain from using thus ensuring a certain thumping from ‘the girlfriend’.
My wife read this and we are now back to She who must be obeyed.
Swell.
Getting worked up over how other people refer to their significant others seems sorta like letting someone else live rent-free inside one’s own head.
At least that’s what the wife says. 
After reading this thread, I am now four minutes older.
I always use “the girls” when I refer to my bitches .
Sailboat
I told Mr. S when we got married that I would prefer that he didn’t refer to me as “the wife.” To my ears it’s in the same category as “the ball and chain,” etc.
On the other hand, we started calling each other “dear” in a sarcastic sense, as in, “Yes, DEAR” – and now we do it for real. Go figure.
That is how I am going to sign all future e-mails to “the husband.”
See here:
"Husband, please pick up a gallon of milk and a pack of diapers on your way home.
Love,
The Center of Your Existence and the Person Without Whom Your Life Would Be Meaningless"
I like it. 
I use “the boss” to refer to “the husband.” I use 'the wife," to describe myself in a deprecatory manner sometimes in the business. “Oh, I can’t do that, I’m just the wife.” (It will be noted that no one believes me.)
What a waste of a 1000 post. Damn.
Using “husband” in direct address is also pretty good.
I suppose it’s all in how you look at it. If you view calling her “the wife” as a way of distancing her then it’s bad. If you view it as a way of elevating her - as analogous to refering to “the President” or “the Queen” - then it’s good. And if you call her “my wife” to show intimacy, it’s good. If you do it to show a sense of ownership, it’s bad.
I use “the wife” all the time, including in my posts, and will continue to do so. It’s not the least bit disrespectful, and I’ve never heard of anything so absurd. Perhaps the OP needs to seek out some sort of professional therapy.
I call her “The sex object.” Because every time I ask for sex, she objects.
Now if someone wants to object to sexist references to one’s spouse, look no further than the Japanese. Men often refer to their wives (one each, of course), they use kanai, the person in the house, and wives refer to their husbands as shujin master. Of course, this being Japan and all, reality is much different than these words would seem to suggest.
There is revenge for the women, though. They get lots of fun words for their husbands after the men retire, including sodaigomi “large garbage” and another meaning “wet fallen leaves.”
Damn, I’ve got a lot to look forward to.
MUA’DIB! MUA’DIB! MUA’DIB!
Sitcom-fuelled? The whole “trouble and strife”, “ball and chain” “her indoors” “better half” thing is as old as the hills. Do you also blame modern TV for the fact that turds are really stinky, and that rain is all wet and unpleasant?
Maybe you should go and pick up an early Andy Capp collection for an idea of what things were like in the golden days of the late fifties.
Personally I prefer to refer to my girlfriend as The Boss. She mentions weddings far too often as it is - I don’t want to encourage her.
Finally, someone gets it.
Despite the fact that you’ve established that a long time ago, we nonetheless simply refer to you as “the moron.”
I had one of those once. I’ve since upgraded to The-most-wonderful-woman-in-the-world model. I call her “The Wife”.
Just not to her face.
So let me get this straight. When my husband (The Dickhead) calls me “the wife” I should be pissed.
Ok - got it.
(When he calls me “the bitch” though, that’s ok, right? I just want to clarify.)