A Chaotic Wardrobe, Piles of Unironed Clothes, and Sour Soup in the Fridge—This Is Our Home. I Tried Gently Talking to My Wife About It, But Somehow Ended Up Being Blamed I Fell in Love with Mary at First Sight—Captivated by Her Beauty, Intelligence, and Seemingly Impeccable Tidiness, I Proposed Without Hesitation. We Moved In Together and Agreed on an Equal Split of Housework Since She Wanted to Focus on Her Career, Which Seemed Perfectly Fair. Six Months Later, Her Work Wasn’t Going as Planned, and She Spent What She Earned on Herself, Leaving the House Messy and Chores Half-Done. Despite Our Agreement, She Accuses Me of Not Helping Enough, and Balancing My Full-Time Job With All the Housework Has Become Overwhelming. I Hoped Things Would Improve When Our Baby Arrived, But It’s Only Gotten Worse. Now I’m Left Feeling Neglected, Struggling to Hold Our Family Together, and Wondering—Whose Side Are You On?

Author Walton MerrittReading 4 minViews 3

A chaotic wardrobe, piles of unironed clothes, and a pot of sour soup in the fridgethis is our home these days. I try to bring up these concerns gently with my wife, but somehow, the conversation always ends with her blaming me.

I fell head over heels for Emma from the very first moment I saw her. Emma was impossible to resist, with her beauty and charm. I thought I must be extraordinarily lucky to have such a clever, attractive, and neat woman by my side. I didnt hesitate for a moment before I asked her to marry me.

When we decided to move in together, Emma was quick to tell me that she wasnt keen on housework. Shed rather focus on her career and wanted us to share chores evenly. I didnt see anything wrong with that and agreed straight awayit seemed sensible and fair at the time. Little did I know what the future had in store for us.

We split the domestic work, and Emma assured me she could balance her job and keep things in order at home. I trusted her judgement and didnt insist on my own views.

Six months have gone by, and Ive noticed things arent going as wed planned. Emmas career hasnt turned out as shed hoped; shes working part-time for a small, barely-known company, with an irregular wage and a schedule all over the place. She spends what she earns mostly on herself. Meanwhile, Im slogging away from morning to night. Despite this, Emma seems happy to remember our agreement about household chores only when it suits her, and often ignores her own responsibilities.

At the beginning, she did her bit with enthusiasm. But over time, her energy faded. The house has become increasingly messy, with crumpled clothes piling up everywhere. To my disbelief, she blames me for it all, saying I should help out more. This attitude hurts. Its incredibly hard to juggle a demanding job while also taking care of the whole house. We had agreed, right from the start, to split things fairly.

Id hoped things would get better after our baby was bornmaybe Emma would focus on the home and our family during her maternity leave. But things have only got worse. Sometimes I wonder if life wouldnt be easier without her. On top of our problems, constant arguments have crept into our everyday lives.

I genuinely try to see things from Emmas perspective, to step into her shoes, yet I cant shake the feeling my needs are neglected. I work all day at the office, tackle jobs at home, and fit in the housework as well. All I want is a little rest.

Sometimes I cant help but wonder what Emma actually does during her maternity leave, what keeps her from making dinner or tidying up the living room. Our little one is just two months old and sleeps most of the day. I always think I could manage at least a few chores in that time. I worry how wed cope if we had another child. I believe in equality and supporting each other, but it seems Emma finds it hard to grasp what that really means.

I dont want to break up our familyI love our child dearly. But honestly, Im at my wits end. I just dont know how to carry on living like this. Whose side are you on in this story?

When Beatrice Discovered She Was Expecting, Her Family Was Shocked—They Disapproved of Her Relationship with a Man They Believed Wouldn’t Stay, Fearing She’d Raise a Child Alone and Face Social Prejudice Beatrice is an ordinary young woman from Birmingham, brought up in a loving family by her mother and stepfather, who was like a real dad to her. With her parents’ unwavering support, she always knew she was loved and could rely on them. Beatrice graduated from high school, but her place at university was uncertain due to her poor command of English. She decided that private tuition would help her pick up the language faster, so she started looking for a tutor. She chose Ronnie, originally from Ghana, who had come to the UK for his own studies. Fluent in English, Ronnie had been tutoring privately for years. At first, the lessons were tough for Beatrice, but over time she warmed to Ronnie, and soon their relationship became something much more. They couldn’t stand being apart. When Beatrice found out she was pregnant, her whole family was in shock. The idea of her being in a relationship with someone they thought wouldn’t stick around filled them with concern. They imagined her raising the baby alone and having to cope with their child standing out from others because of her appearance. After Ronnie received his degree, he did return to Ghana, but he stayed in close contact with Beatrice. They both eagerly awaited the birth of their baby, calling and chatting on Zoom regularly. Beatrice’s baby arrived safely, but ongoing animosity from her family pushed her to make the tough decision to move to Ghana. Life in Africa wasn’t easy for Beatrice and her husband: the climate proved too challenging and they had to return to the UK. In time, they welcomed their second daughter. However, the family continued to refuse contact, and Beatrice refused to leave her beloved husband just to please them. Now, the couple are planning a move to Canada, hopeful that there, they’ll find a more tolerant community.

My Son Spent Years Searching for the Right Woman to Marry, and I Never Questioned His Choices—When He Turned 30, He Finally Met Emma, Who Seemed Perfect for Him Almost every day, I’d hear about how kind and beautiful she was—it was clear my son had truly fallen in love. I liked Emma as well, and he would speak passionately about her to me and his friends, convinced she was the ideal woman for him, so it was no surprise when he didn’t hesitate to tie the knot. As a loving mother, I fully supported his decision. Planning the wedding was no easy feat, but my friends were a tremendous help. The bride’s parents were wonderful and we got on splendidly from the start. At first, everything was blissful, but things shifted over time. Their marriage started to unravel, arguments became more frequent, and I reminded myself it was just their first year—surely things would settle down. Still, I worried because I wanted their marriage to be strong and happy. One evening truly shook me—late at night, my son showed up at my door with his belongings, telling me he had nowhere to go because his wife had thrown him out. He stayed with me for a few days, and Emma never once came round to try to reconcile. This became a recurring pattern. When my daughter-in-law told me she was pregnant, I decided to sit down with them to offer some advice that might help avoid further misunderstandings. Unfortunately, it made things worse—tensions only increased, and my son spent the night at my house even more often. I could see he was struggling; gone was the happy young man I knew, replaced by someone clearly disappointed with life. I couldn’t bear to see my son so miserable in a toxic relationship, so I suggested he think carefully about whether it was worth staying married. I told him he could be a wonderful father even if he lived separately. He soon filed for divorce. Not long afterwards, Emma came to me, asking for my help to persuade my son to call off the divorce, insisting she didn’t want to break up their family. I’d often advised her to look after her marriage, but now she was blaming me for interfering when my son filed for divorce. Now I wonder if I should have encouraged my son to end his marriage. His wife resents me, and my son himself seems to be drifting further away from me. Perhaps they still love each other? Living apart feels wrong, but living together wasn’t working either.