I Gave My Husband a Reality Check after He Pretended to Be Stupid to Avoid Housework

When I overheard my husband advising his friend to deliberately botch household chores, I felt a surge of anger. That moment marked the beginning of a transformation in our marriage, one where I decided to confront his weaponized incompetence by treating him like the child he was pretending to be.

I slumped on the couch, feeling utterly exhausted. I had just finished vacuuming the living room for the second time today. Mike had tried to help earlier, but as usual, his attempt was half-hearted and sloppy.

Why can’t he just do it right the first time?” I muttered to myself, shaking my head.

Balancing a full-time job and managing most of the household chores was wearing me down. Every day, I juggled work, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of our two kids. It felt like I had three children, not two. Mike seemed to be getting more and more useless around the house. Whenever I asked for help, he’d respond, “I don’t know how to do it,” and continue relaxing on the couch.

Even when he did help, it was always a mess. One evening, after a long day at work, I came home to find the kitchen in complete disarray. Mike stood at the sink, half-heartedly scrubbing a pot.

“Mike, can you please load the dishwasher?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

“I don’t know how to arrange everything,” he replied with a sigh, dropping the pot with a loud clatter.

“Just put the plates and silverware in,” I said, already feeling the familiar frustration.

He grabbed a handful of utensils and tossed them into the dishwasher, not bothering to separate or rinse them. Plates were stacked haphazardly, some still with chunks of food clinging to them.

“Mike, they won’t get clean like that,” I said, pointing at the mess.

He shrugged. “It’s good enough.”

One evening, after a particularly frustrating day, I overheard Mike on the phone. He was talking to his friend, laughing.