I actually find this discussion really interesting. The piece of data I was missing was that I didn't understand that people associate "mate" mainly with anima

I actually find this discussion really interesting. The piece of data I was missing was that I didn't understand that people associate "mate" mainly with animal behaviour these days. It didn't have that connotation for me at all, it was a perfectly natural way my mother would have spoken about a lifelong spouse with children. In quoting me on "logic and reason" you missed the additional "and clear communication" in my sentence. I thought "mate" was clearer than "wife" or "girlfriend" because it's more specific to what I was trying to say, something more like soulmate to raise children with. And I now acknowledge that it wasn't a clear way for me to communicate, given the discussion above. (Still, however, my brain isn't wired in a way for me to be able to analyze all this in real time, or pick it up intuitively like normal people do.)