Husband Orders Wife To Pay Him 30% Of Her Salary For Using Their Home Office
He claims the office is "his property," even though they split the bills evenly.
ShotPrime Studio / Shutterstock After 2020, working from home became the norm for a lot of people. And while it can be challenging for some to work from home, especially for parents or caretakers, we don't often think that the problem would stem from our own spouse.
That's exactly what happened to one woman who was left flabbergasted at a demand from her husband regarding her work-from-home office.
A woman's husband told her she needed to pay him 30% of her salary for using their home office.
In a since-deleted post on Reddit, a woman explained that she's been working from home for the past two months.
"My husband bought the house we live in before we got together. He calls it his property, which is fine by me," she wrote, adding that their house only has two rooms, so she turned the empty one into her office.
Since working in her new office, everything had been going smoothly. That is, until her husband sat her down one day to tell her he would be "expecting [a] 30% 'profit'" from the salary she received at her job since he "provides" her access to the office in their home.
Of course, the woman was extremely confused and shocked by his declaration. Her husband tried to explain that he wanted a cut of his wife's salary because their house is "his home," and she's using a room in the home that he owns, which is technically "his property."
"I said no and called him unreasonable which led to a blowup," she revealed. "I yelled at him saying he won't get a penny and he pitched a fit and accused me of 'taking full advantage', even though there's no mortgage to be paid."
The woman also shared that she does all the chores in the house and they pay all the bills equally.
Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels
But now, after declining to share her salary, her husband has gotten his entire family involved in their disagreement.
"His mom thinks I'm being difficult and that 30% is not a huge amount, and that this room is providing 'stability' for my [work-from-home office], so my husband should get some sort of benefits."
The woman ended her post wondering if she was in the wrong for denying her husband's demands, to which many people supported her. They pointed out that his thinking was toxic and unreasonable, and that they are spouses, not roommates or tenants.
While ideals of joint marital property and traditional marriages are outdated concepts, there are certain truths healthy relationships abide by.
It's normal for many marriages and relationships to split household chores and bills, but when it comes to owning property, though the person on the deed technically owns the house, a truly stable relationship doesn't involve one spouse holding that over the other.
If one spouse or partner contributes to the home — making mortgage payments or paying other bills, taking care of general maintenance around the property, or taking on the brunt of the chores — both partners are joint owners, regardless of who is on the deed.
In this woman's case, she is an equal contributor, if not more so, since she performs all the chores and pays her share of the bills. Using the husband's logic, it would only be fair then to have him pay his wife for the housework if she is going to pay for the office space.
While it's unclear what the outcome was in this situation, other couples can learn from the toxic mindset the husband has. Because relationships should consist of two partners who support one another, don't "keep score," and think of one another as equals.
In the end, it's important to have difficult conversations, especially about finances, before getting married or moving in together.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.