Apparently, in a society that still leans heavily into women taking care of all the household stuff, whether or not they are working a paying job, who does the dishes is a major predictor for marital stress or harmony.
So, I guess, then, that one explanation for my very happy marriage (23 years come this weekend) is that I do the dishes most of the time.
The two important things there being:
a. I do the dishes (because +Margie Kleerup cooks 95% of the meals, so that’s my contribution, and I think I get the much better end of that deal).
b. most of the time (because even though we have patterns of who does what around the house, both of us are willing to pitch in to assist or do the work if circumstances require).
If it avoids relationship tension, I’m happy to do the dishes. Even if I don’t do them as frequently as I ought.
Doing Dishes Is a Major Source of Relationship Tension – The Atlantic
This is now an empirically proven fact. Dishwashing causes more relationship distress than any other household task.
35 years, same arrangement. Though now we have retired I am cooking a lot more; I like cooking.
There’s not much sexier than a man doing dishes. And they have soft hands.
Doing the dishes relaxes me.
My wife does the dishes, cooks, and keeps our finances going. I go to work and earn a living. I think it's a good balance.
We split the cooking and dish washing/kitchen cleaning, unless someone is ill.
Though the people in the article that sound like they left dishes in the sink and water for days were disgusting.