Does a relationship function when one half is doing all the work?

That’s a question that’s constantly being tested in domestic partnerships. In most healthy relationships, there is some division of labor. There is some way that you’ve agreed upon that keeps the balance fair. Maybe one person has a full-time in-person job, and brings home the lion’s share of the bacon. Maybe the other person manages the household, taking on most of the cooking and cleaning. Maybe you both work full-time, so you split the cost of a housekeeper, and try to cook meals for each other when you can. Or maybe one of you is a great cook, so the other always cleans. However you work it out, all that matters is that you do. And you have to occasionally check in with one another about whether the arrangement is still working. Because things might shift over time. 

When something isn’t working for one of you, that’s your sign to reevaluate. A huge part of a relationship is balancing the way you fit into each other’s lives, and that means divvying up the chores. This is not a small thing you can just get over; it’s a fundamental part of the partnership. If both of you are upset about it, that means something has to give. You both have to compromise a bit for a greater sense of peace overall. That’s what this pair tried to do when they kept running into the same problem.