There are lots of things that can put strain on a relationship but a new study has suggested doing the dishes could be the final straw.
Everyone has that household chore that they dread every week.
Whether it's cleaning the toilet, or like Binky Felstead, taking the bins out - there is no denying that we would rather we didn't have to do them.
According to a new study, titled Not All Housework is Created Equal: Particular Housework Tasks and Couples’ Relationship Quality, repeatedly having to do the dishes is the chore most likely to harm your relationship.
Women who did all the dishwashing reported lower sexual satisfaction and a higher frequency of arguments in the study.
Conducted by the Council of Contemporary Families (CCF), the report looked into the dynamics of different relationships and compared how this is impacted by household chores such as shopping, dishwashing, laundry and general house cleaning.
In the report researchers revealed that women in heterosexual relationships, who had to do the majority of dirty dish washing, recalled 'significantly more relationship discord, lower relationship satisfaction, and less sexual satisfaction than women who split the dishes with their partner'.
Not sharing the dishes could lead to the breakdown of your relationship, a new study finds
But don't lose hope - the solution is pretty simple. You just need to share the chores more evenly. The study found that sharing the responsibility of dishwashing was the 'biggest source of satisfaction for women among all household tasks'.
Speaking in more depth about why the dishes cause so much contention, one of study's lead authors revealed that it was because doing the dishes is rarely complimented.
Dan Carlson told The Atlantic: 'Doing dishes is gross. There is old, moldy food sitting in the sink. If you have kids, there is curdled milk in sippy cups that smells disgusting. What is there to say? 'Oh, the silverware is so… sparkly?''
So if your partner is always doing the dishes it could be time to share the load and thank them for doing it every once in a while.
Surprisingly, the study also found that for men, sharing shopping with their partner seems to be a turn on.
The report said: 'Men who shared the shopping for their household not only reported greater sexual and relationship satisfaction than men who did the majority of this work, but also greater satisfaction than men whose partner did the majority of shopping.'
What do you think about the study? Do you resent always having to do the dishes or have you managed to find a balance? Let us know in the comments box below!
