Just because a guy stood in a bread line during the depression doesn't mean he has no marketable skills.
I never said he didn't. He doesn't realize he doesn't have to stand in the breadline. And I'm not suggesting he work on this stuff in order to GET something from her, just like I would never suggest to a woman to lose weight in order to get more sex from her H.
You have to do it for yourself. Not for anyone else. When a woman loses weight, often times she regains her self-confidence... which becomes the attractive quality. I know many women who carry extra weight that put tall thin women to shame... simply because of their 'attitude.'
It's all in the 'tude. And that 'tude can only come from self. If he regains that, and she still declines... then he is all the better ready to move on in the world. And it's her loss.