Woman reveals how she got her boyfriend to do his share of housework: ‘He was a self admitted mama’s boy’

‘He started learning how to be an adult’

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman has revealed how she got her boyfriend to do his fair share of housework, as he was a “self admitted mama’s boy” when they first moved in together.

In a recent Reddit post, a user who goes by the username u/Dangerous-Web-2497 shared how she moved in with boyfriend, who is now her fiancé, years ago. But, throughout the first three weeks living together, he was “terrible at picking up after himself”.

“He was a self admitted mama’s boy and went directly from his parents’ house to our shared home,” she wrote. “I was fed up, so when I told him that I was tired of picking up after him and acting as his maid he hit me with: ‘that’s not true, we both clean up equally.’”

She recalled how after “a bit of back and forth” discussions, he told her that if she didn’t believe him, they could “split the house.” He took care of one half, while his girlfriend took care of the other. The woman then took the request quite “literally,” as she split almost everything up in half.

“Got painter’s tape, divided every single room in half (including the kitchen counter, the inside of the fridge, the bathroom counter...),” she continued.  “Also he was cocky and suggested two months, I shortened it to one.”

After less than a week, according to the original poster, her boyfriend’s side of the home looked like a “pig sty.” He also “ran out of food,” as she had “stopped grocery shopping and cooking for him”.

“The only exception I made was cleaning the toilet and shower because I was not about to use a filthy bathroom to make a point,” she explained.

She said that as a result of the experiment, her boyfriend started taking on more responsibilities and they are now “about to get married.”

“He bought me flowers and chocolate, apologised for his behaviour, and started learning how to be an adult,” she concluded. “We are eight years into this relationship and he is an amazing man, we are about to get married.”

As of 29 March, the post has more than 23,900 upvotes, with readers in the comments sharing how their former and current partners struggled to clean after themselves, as well.

“After three years of living with a very messy and dirty man, [I] stopped cleaning up after him,” one wrote. “A month later he informed me we should end things. I took pictures of our home to ensure I’d never go back to him.”

“My wife was complaining about how messy the house always was,” another wrote. “I knew I was cleaning, and was equally perplexed. Then I started paying attention and realised that I was cleaning up her clothes and her messes. Luckily I was able to point it out (nicely) to her and she realised that we were both a part of the problem and can both be the solution.”

Many Reddit users applauded the original poster’s boyfriend for realising that he needed to help out more in order to keep his home clean.

“I love when people take accountability,” one wrote. “Now look, a wonderful relationship and marriage will soon foster!! Only if everyone could swallow their pride.”

“Very nicely done!” a comment reads. “Too many folks, not restricted to just men, do not know how to keep house. Or how to deep clean.”

The Independent has reached out to u/Dangerous-Web-2497 for comment.