Pregnant woman urged to go on strike after husband’s odd requests

Ellen Fitzpatrick

A mum-to-be has been left utterly baffled when she discovered she was pregnant and her husband presented a list of odd requests.

Typically in any relationship, especially if you’re living together, there is an even divide between chores and housework – or at least there should be.

We’ve moved on from women taking responsibility for the housework and doting on our partners as if it’s 1920, but for this mum, times are not changing as fast.

After discovering she was pregnant, the mum expected that she would get some leeway when it came to the chores but to her horror, her husband refused to take on any extra responsibility despite this being their fourth child.

Taking to Reddit’s Am I the a**hole’ forum, she revealed that her husband believes that it’s the wife’s responsibility “to take care of all duties related to the house and kids” as well as expecting her to “make all of his meals.”

It even went as far as him saying that she “has it easy” as she currently isn’t working and is “passive-aggressive” when food hasn’t been made for him.

Taking to the forum to ask if she was in the wrong, the mum said: “I am so tired recently from entertaining the kids all day during summer vacation and I’ve been having a hard time with my pregnancy.

“He told me ‘life’s tough this is your job’ and has no sympathy for me. In fact, he thinks I have it easy because I ‘don’t work.’ The last two nights I’ve refused to make him dinner and he’s acting like I’m a useless ‘horrible’ wife. Why can’t he stop at the store after work and pick himself something up? Or look at what we have in the fridge and make something?

“When he’s hungry he’ll constantly say ‘I’m starving, I’m so hungry, etc.’ being passive-aggressive to let me know he wants me to make him something. I’m completely undervalued and unappreciated. Am I an a**hole for putting my foot down and refusing to wait on him hand and foot?”

Many immediately took to the comments to shut down her husband’s comments, with one person writing: “Unless your husband is working 16 hours a day, he had better start stepping up. You’re doing the work of babysitter, cook, cleaner, and personal shopper. How many jobs is he doing?”

Another said: “Seriously! I’m a stay-at-home mum too, and even when my husband works 14-hour days he makes his own breakfast.”

A third added: “I’m sorry you’re dealing with such an insufferable man who truly has no concept of how much [unpaid] work goes into all you take care of. I would go on strike lol. Stop making him anything to eat. Stop cleaning. Just make sure the kids are good but nothing else.”