Truth be told, it doesn't really matter who is more intelligent or intellectual in a relationship be it the woman or the man. What matters the most, essential and sacrosanct is love and trust. Once this two elements are in any relationship intelligence or intellectual prowess wouldn't even come into the picture.
Well i think it all boils down to ego. For that elderly woman to make such a statement, there would have been experiences that serves as a basis for her statement.
Let's look at that statement by the elderly woman critically from the angle of when quarel or misunderstanding occur in the relationship what happens? I have been privileged to have experience with some ladies who have certain advantage or headway over their spouse in certain aspects of life and whenever the chips are down or the relationship is experiencing some challenges, the ladies in question go on an ego trip, insulting their male counterparts with what they have an obvious advantage over, it could be a job, being intelligent or more intellectual than the man, it could be having more money than the man. This ego trip has led to the destruction of many relationships. And i think that's what serves as the basis of the elderly woman's statement.
However what's not put into consideration is that there are two people in any relationship and for that relationship to work everything between the two has to be balanced to a large extent. This is simply because even men go on ego trip when they have an advantage over the woman.