The 10 most common couple fights over household chores - and how to avoid them
Nothing says 'Valentine's Day is almost here' like a survey into the most common couple fights — because as we all know, the key to a successful relationship isn't how you behave during the good times, but how you treat each other when things go wrong.
A survey conducted by Conservatory Blinds 4 Less has looked into what is the most common couple fight by studying the Mumsnet Talk section.
The company's researchers looked into all the threads and highlighted key phrases relating to household tasks, so these results pertain to couples living together.
The company's researchers looked into all the threads and highlighted key phrases relating to household tasks. Getty
To make the results more relevant researchers looked at post made between June 2020 and December 2021, so they probably also need to be read through a 'periods of lockdown' lense.
The final ranking collated the total number of mentions for each category and type of chore to come up with the top 10 chores most likely to cause couple fights, and number one is a doozy: doing the washing up, at 32 per cent
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This is closely followed by cleaning the bathroom at 21 per cent and then vacuuming at 14 per cent. So, cleaning then.
Cooking is responsible for nine per cent of fights, followed by taking out the bins, then doing laundry, feeding a pet, redecorating, building furniture and ironing. So, domestic duties then.
The results of the survey are surprising. Graphic: Tara Blancato
Married at First Sight (MAFS) relationship expert John Aiken tells 9Honey there is a healthy way to have a fight in a relationship, to avoid any damage being done.
He says it's all about good communication and thinking about "how to get my point across".
"You need to bring up topics softly, you need to avoid personal attacks, use 'I feel' statements, and give your partner a future idea of what you want them to do," he explains.
If the conversation does escalate, Aiken advises couples take a time out.
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