I can hear some of my friends saying, “A single mom doesn’t need a man, she needs a wife.”
But if you interviewed a lot of single mothers I bet you’d hear a lot of stories about how they never met a man they would trust to nurture and protect their children.
In other words, they might have a desire to have a male partner, but have not found any particular man who qualifies for the job.
Better no husband/stepfather than a bad one.