In "Biblical Perspective" Larry Grile writes:

The highest ideal of love is that we love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). This means that we transfer the love we naturally have for ourselves to include having a caring and thoughtful regard for others. This kind of love should be most evident in marriage. Husbands need to express their love verbally and practically every day. Women are usually more loving than men, and they also need the security of being loved. It is much easier for a wife to be submissive when a man truly loves and affirms her. Reverence includes the ideas of submission, respect, and deference. God has so made men that they need and desire these qualities in a woman, but they cannot require them. Reverence is needed because man is the authority and head of the home. Respectful submission is part of a woman's submission to God. Husbands can lead only when wives will follow. A woman is much easier to love when she is submissive, respectful, and affectionate. Only as men love and lead, and women respect and follow, can marriage reach the joyful and fulfilling ideal it was meant to be.

Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 53.