They are supposed to work together to make each other happy and satisfied in every aspect of life.
I think when you marry someone, you are becoming part of a unit. This unit is only as strong as the desire to further it. Your view seems to be that marriage comes before self. Which I do not think is a healthy view. Not because people should fuck over their spouses, but because sometimes marriage just doesn't work out.
Sometimes you have to end a marriage. This is the case with things like abuse, violence, crime, debt, and addiction. Not that I am comparing what is going on to abuse. But you should also end a marriage when you just cannot agree on the path to take. Both people have an equal right to happiness and if one person cannot, healthfully, bend to allow the other to make the choices... then the marriage has stopped being a union and started being a hindrance.
I think people should work hard to get through hard times. I don't think quitting at the first stormy day is right. But in the case of "I want kids" but "my partner does not" you have to be realistic. Unlike career choices or getting a pet, children are people. And no one should be forced to be pregnant against their will. No one should bring life into this world unless they 100% want children.
And the wife 100% doesn't seem interested in having them. And she is not a villain for that. She just learned that a career is more important than having children. Which is fine. It just means there will be some pain and the marriage ends, unless Op can survive not having kids.
Your wife is not keeping her side of the promise she made when she married you. She knew full well that you wanted kids early but now she is putting her career ambitions above her family.
I would also say that Op is putting his desire for children above the promise to his wife. If this is about making the other person happy, Op should be more than willing to forgo children so his wife will be happy.
I don't know about you, but family is supposed to be the closest bond you have in your life. Nothing, I repeat nothing, is supposed to come between you and family. She needs to understand this. No amount of money or fame should ever let me ignore my family's wishes/desires especially someone as close as a lifelong partner.
You sound like someone who has a healthy family. A lot of the time, family isn't the people who you are related to by blood. It is the people who are willing to fight for you. Marriages fail, siblings turn out bad, parents turn out crazy, and you have to look out for your own mental health. In the end, we are all we have and you should never put your mental and physical health on the line for someone else unless you want to.
Op's wife does not want children. Op can either accept that or leave. They have a small family together and he is essentially going to abandon her for people who do not exist yet. It goes both ways.
To make a long story short, sit down, have a good long talk with her about the importance of family and tell her that it feels like she is ignoring your needs in favor of pursuing her own dreams.
Her career is a need. Kids are a want. A career is often an essential part of survival.