At first, it was a real-life fairy tale when Simone and Michael met at the Hard Rock Café.
The two lovebirds immediately hit it off, with Simone, now 40, even announcing that Michael, now 50, had officially become her “boyfriend” right then and there.
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But the relationship took a turn for the worse when the Brummy duo moved home and Simone realized how messy her partner, a former chef, really was.
”When we had Mia [their ten-year-old daughter]it made sense that we loved each other and it was like a chip came in and it was like ‘Wow, I got you now – now, I’m going to do whatever I want,'” said Simone.
The former chef remains a huge foodie and often loves spending his free time preparing elaborate meals – but although the dishes are delicious, Simone finds the style of cooking unbearable.
On average, the mother-of-one spends an incredible two hours cleaning up the mess – part of which is also Michael’s epic sneaker collection, which he’s saving “for a special occasion.”
The vast range of footwear has really taken over the Birmingham-based family’s home – as the food lover keeps the gear under the bed in a huge pile, as well as on the balcony.
“Half the time he struggles to combine them, so he can never use them anyway. You can move them – but where do you move them?”
But it’s not just Michael’s vast shoe collection that’s causing a mess – even the shed in the garden has fallen victim to his hoarding tendencies.
Although the limited space is cluttered with mismatched bags and random bits and pieces, the husband sees them as possible side hustles that could bring in some extra cash — like a hot dog stand, which he hasn’t used yet.
The aspiring businessman, tonight’s episode of Wife on Strike on Channel 5 revealed, also got his hands on an ice cream van parked in the street.
But after spending the last few years in a total mess, Simone reached the boiling point where she admitted she wouldn’t be opposed to living separately.
”I don’t want to keep complaining about him. But ultimately, I get stressed when there are things everywhere.
Husband Michael, who now works at a school, saw everything from a different perspective, classifying his domestic efforts as “60:40” – for him, “obviously”.
Although her cooking skills are out of this world, keeping the kitchen clean isn’t on the menu – with the heated arguments bringing Simone to tears.
“What Mia realized was just an annoying mother,” she cried on the show.
Cleaning and household chores in numbers
Well Polished carried out a survey and the results are in!
Most hated household chores
- Oven cleaning – 34%
- Ironing – 15%
- Bathroom cleaning – 10%
- Washing the dishes – 5%
- Organization – 4%
Most liked household chores
- Cooking meals – 21%
- Organization – 12%
- Vacuuming – 11%
- Washing clothes – 9%
- Caring for pets 8%
Men versus women: who works?
Men spend 7 hours and 54 minutes per week cleaning.
Women spend 12 hours and 15 minutes a week cleaning.
”I’m really resentful about this because it’s not me and it’s not what I want for myself – and now this is how I’m supposed to spend my days.”
It was at this point that the mother-of-one broke down and decided to go on strike, leaving Michael and his pre-teen daughter to fend for themselves while she relaxed in a boutique hotel.
While Simone was away, Michael decided to eventually clean out the family home, move the shelves in the kitchen cabinets and even said he wanted to “keep track” of his newfound tidiness.
However, Simone felt like “nothing had really changed” when she returned from her week-long maternity strike.
When he pulled back the sheets, he found piles of clothes that had not been put away and realized that the surfaces were still “dirty.”
Michael kept asking: “Are women always happy?”
“Simone spent a week in a hotel and I felt like I had gone to the kennel,” he added jokingly.
The couple eventually came to the conclusion that the experiment worked to some extent.
You can watch Wife On Strike episode 4 on My5.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
