He claims that she is “wasting money” by paying someone else to do chores that she can do “on her days off” work.
The wife took to Reddit to explain the situation and vent, revealing that she works 13 hour shifts as a steamfitter most days.
And as her husband isn’t partial to cleaning the house, she decided to get a cleaner in to ease the burden on her when she comes home from a gruelling shift.
The woman’s steamfitting gig pays a handsome £80 an hour, so she even suggested her husband “could pay her the same hourly rate to do extra housework”.
A steamfitter is a skilled tradesperson who instals, maintains and repairs piping systems that convey high-pressure gases or liquids, such as steam, air, water or chemicals.
Also known as pipefitters, the average salary for one in the UK is £37,050, according to Talent.com.
“My husband is upset however because I decided to pay for a cleaning lady,” the woman explained.
“He and I discussed it and we agreed that he and the kids didn’t do a great job keeping the house clean and tidy while I was away on work.
“I hated coming home to a mess.
“It caused a few fights because it was like they expected me to come home and clean up after them.”
She described having the cleaner as “fantastic” because she’s always happy to walk through the door to a tidy home and the kids “have more time to study”.
But despite the improved quality of life, her husband believes the cleaner is “a waste of money”.
“I said that I could offer him two options,” she said.
“If he wanted we could completely get rid of the cleaner, he and the kids could make sure the house was in good shape when I got home.
“Or, he could pay me my hourly rate to do extra housework when I am on my days off.”
Her options didn’t go down well and actually pushed her husband to call her “financially manipulative”.
“I think if he and the kids actually did what they are supposed to do when I’m away, none of this would be an issue,” she said.
Her Reddit post has attracted mass attention, with countless people vindicating her annoyance – and a number even labelling her husband “sexist”.
“This is definitely about control more than it is about cutting costs,” one warned.
“Your husband has a big problem,” another slammed. “Why would you have to do the housework if he doesn’t do it?
“What a sexist attitude.
“You have the right not to be the housekeeper.”