While people can certainly chime in and add more information, a similar question was asked and answered by /u/BigBennP a few months ago.

There is always more to be said, but I think my old answer to Some episodes of "I Love Lucy" ended with Ricky spanking Lucy. Was this really such an accepted practice within marriage in the 1950s that it could be made light of in mainstream media or was this considered humorous because it was seen as ridiculous behavior pattern between a man and wife? may be helpful. Essentially, it boils down to wife-spanking being more of a cultural trope than an actual practice, appearing in films and on tv as a way for a man to "tame" a spirited woman, and being used in the press to dismiss cases of more serious spousal abuse.