It's true. Once you've been married for a while and people know you aren't looking for something out of the compliment, it gives us male people a lot more freedom to give honest opinions. Of course, some of us are heading toward the "dirty old man" category....
In my position, I've been wondering about the social politics of being a pastor and offering a compliment on a woman's looks. For some, being a pastor means you are "safe", for others, it means you are a predator. (Thanks, all you pastors who have had affairs!) Well, I generally just compliment clothes, which is generally safe.