Solid advice, Elicia, thanks for sharing! It’s amazing how we can get trapped in relationship clichés, thinking that if we do a certain thing or if our partner does a certain thing we will get equality and that will give us a great relationship.

I can’t remember where I read it, but I read about a study not that long back which looked into whether there was a correlation between how much a man helps around the house and relationship success, and it found no correlation. Funnily enough, it mentioned that some men thought simply doing household chores would keep their partner happy. But this proved not to be the case — in most cases anyhow.

What it did find was that there was a clear correlation between communication and relationship success. Partners that communicate well tend to have successful relationships, partners that don’t tend to not. I would imagine when it comes to finding relationship equality, so balance, and seeing what each other is bringing, communication is a key factor.

Perhaps the cliché of the importance of household chores is one of those clichés that hinders many couples from doing this due to blinding partners over the most important factor. Working out how to communicate with each other in a way that allows you both to find balance.