Wife Comes Up With Genius Way To Get Husband To Do Chores: 'Side Quests'

A wife's unusual attempt to get her husband to do chores has been branded "bleak" after gaining viral attention online.

Reddit user gamergirl118 shared a picture of her different approach on Reddit forum "funny," where she wrote: "In an attempt to help my husband complete his chores, I've made him a list of side quests." With more than 46,000 upvotes and over 4,000 comments, the picture shows the carefully thought out challenges set by the wife.

The list included quests like: "Imps have invaded the living quarters of the Queen and Princess, causing untold damage. Restore the peace and be greatly rewarded. (Clean the living room)," and: "Beat back the green scourge invading the fishy kingdom. (Clean fish tank)."

The inventive idea divided opinion. One commenter asked: "What grade is your husband in?" Another user wrote: "This is bleak."

Redditor gamergirl118, who lives in Canada and has been married to her husband for three years, told Newsweek: "My husband and I have been doing several renovations on our house over the years and we have very little space for him to work on his own projects. After a while, they have expanded into the common areas too much so I asked him to please tidy up.

"I made the list to put a fun nerdy spin on something that is otherwise boring and overwhelming," she explained. "My husband found the list to be way more enjoyable and cute than if I had just written down what needed to be done and left it at that."

Another Reddit user said: "I love when women have to treat their husbands like small children to get the help they need."

Other commenters disagreed with the more contrarian comments. One wrote: "I had a feeling people were going to infantilize the husband. If this is the only way they will do chores then, yeah, it's a bit sad. She put 'build basement stairs' on the same list as clear the table. This is two adults having a bit of fun."

Another user said: "This is cute but also reminds me of how a parent would get their child to do chores. Hopefully it's more for fun than out of desperation."

According to gamergirl118: "While the side quests might seem like quick 10-minute tasks, they are actually rather large and will take several days to complete."

The viral reaction shocked the couple, she said. "We both felt that the comments were split three ways with a group attacking me and saying my husband should divorce me for being a condescending b****.

"The other group was attacking my husband saying that I should divorce him and the final group saw the post for what it truly was—just a happy couple having some fun and helping each other out."

Callisto Adams, a dating and relationship expert at advice site hetexted.com, told Newsweek: "The mismatch in who does the chores is very common in romantic relationships. The sexist ad campaigns with slogans such as 'Women don't leave the kitchen!' aren't the only part of the long roots behind the reason why there's a flawed view on who 'should' do more or fewer chores around the house.

"Despite those ads and flawed mentalities that led—and unfortunately, still lead—to sexism being part of our lives."

Adams says while we have advanced in a lot of aspects of society, an outdated "small issue" such as a mismatch in effort around the home is a known source of tension in many relationships.

When it comes to creating a fairer partnership in the home, Adams suggests: "Verbally expressing your concerns while being straightforward, clear, calm and even fun or creative can be an effective solution."

"If it works out for the couple and the issue isn't taken too cheerfully to the point where it's ineffective, then things like this are an amazing way to avoid conflict," said Adams.

"In the end, my husband and I are very happy," explained the poster. "And that's what matters."

Update 06/15/2022, 8:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add information about Callisto Adams.