Most couples argue over real issues. He left. She took the credit card and ran. Someone’s mom is sitting on the couch again. But this guy? He’s walking into a joke.
The 43-year-old husband told his 39-year-old wife — who doesn’t work, cook or clean — casually browsing a $300K job listing when he joked that she could kick him out. Instead of succumbing, he succumbed to imagination. “That would be great,” he said. “We can finally split the bills.” His response? Flat out no.
“It was fantasy,” he wrote in a Reddit post, “but it still made me nervous and it turned into a (mini) fight.”
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The original question was innocent enough: If you made more than me, would you split the bills 50/50? His wife’s answer was not ambiguous either. He added, “She said she would contribute, but brought up a problem with the 50/50 split. Even if she did a lot, she said she would never do it.”
The situation may be fictional, but the discontent is real – and so is the imbalance.
According to her husband, she currently earns more than $200,000. His wife came into the marriage with $40,000 in credit card debt, which he told her to work off before he quit. That job, which paid $100,000, disappeared in a round of layoffs. Since then, she’s been unemployed, burned through a layoff, and started freelancing—but still wound up using credit cards to cover expenses.
Now he’s single-handedly covering the household bills — and, apparently, the housework, too. In later added updates, she confirmed that she does not cook or clean. “She says I like this OCD-level clean so it’s my responsibility,” he explained. “We both used to cook, but she doesn’t like to cook anymore, so now it’s just me. We do cook a lot, though.”
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No children. No plans for children. No division of labor. Just one person carrying the financial and domestic burden, why a hypothetical question elicited such a strong response.
That answer — refusing to go 50/50 even if he makes more — has him rethinking the dynamic.
“She has huge CC debt, doesn’t work, doesn’t clean and doesn’t cook,” wrote one Redditor. “It’s not your wife, it’s your sugar baby.”
Another bluntly stated: “She doesn’t work, she doesn’t contribute financially, she doesn’t contribute domestically, and maintains an entitled personality. The real question is, why are you with her?”
Others point out that fiction often reveals deeper truths. One commenter said, “It shows you her thoughts and expectations … she expects you to provide for her no matter what.”
And while not every couple follows the same financial blueprint, stress over money is more common than many would like to admit. According to new data from Intuit Credit Karma, 28% of couples argue about money at least once a month, a number that jumps to 39% among millennials. For some, it goes even further – 31% are broke or thinking about breaking up over finances, rising to 50% for Millennials.
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It’s not just about fighting, either – it’s about trust. Credit Karma also found that nearly 4 in 10 have admitted to financial infidelity, such as hiding debts or lying about expenses. And 44% say they’ve hidden a purchase from their partner, with men more likely than women to do so, 51% vs. 38%.
Some couples pool the money entirely, while others split based on income ratios or expenses. The “correct” system depends on the relationship. But when a person flatly refuses to pitch — even hypothetically — it can trigger deeper questions. Not just about money, but about fairness, effort and the future.
“It was supposed to be a joke,” said the husband, “but the punchline hit a little too hard.
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This article says the husband, 43, says the wife doesn’t work, cook, or clean – so he asks if she ‘hypothetically’ earns $300K, would she split the bills? She Said ‘Never’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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