Nothing motivates you to get in shape quite like an important event. Especially when that event is your own wedding.
That’s exactly what pushed this man to kick off a strict new diet. He decided to eat four small meals a day, only between 12 and 4 PM, and only certain types of food. It was definitely a challenge—but not just for him.
Instead of managing it himself, he expected his fiancée to cook every one of these carefully timed meals on top of her own. Now she’s exhausted, fed up, and wondering: is she in the wrong for wanting to stop?
More info: Mumsnet
The man went on a strict, time-sensitive diet to slim down for his wedding
Image credits: user2011989 (not the actual photo)
But expects his fiancée to handle all the cooking, and doesn’t see why that’s a big deal
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: SmithyCakeJun
Worldwide, women cook twice as much as men
Times have changed. At least, on paper. In many parts of the world, women are no longer expected to stay home and carry the full load of domestic duties like cooking. But just because they don’t have to doesn’t mean they don’t still do it.
In fact, some research suggests the gender gap in cooking is actually growing. Not exactly the feminist progress you’d hope for.
The data comes from a global survey by Gallup and Cookpad, which tracked how often people cooked and ate home-prepared meals across different countries. In the most recent available results from 2022, women reported cooking just under nine meals per week on average, while men cooked around four. That’s already a wide gap, and it appears to be growing.
Back when the survey began in 2018, the numbers reflected traditional gender roles. But during the pandemic, something changed. With more people at home, men started cooking more, and the gap began to close. “Every year since the study started, the gap narrowed,” Andrew Dugan, research director at Gallup, told NPR. “Until now.”
In a surprising twist, 2022 showed the first reversal of that trend. Women kept up their usual routines, but men started slacking off, cooking nearly one fewer meal per week on average. “It’s the first year that the gap actually widened,” Dugan said. “What it might suggest is [that] the traditional gender roles are starting to reassert themselves.”
The difference varies widely by country. In the U.S., women cook about two more meals per week than men—relatively minor compared to places like Ethiopia, Egypt, Nepal, and Yemen, where women prepare as many as eight additional meals weekly.
Still, other data suggests the imbalance is even greater in some households. According to Pew Research Center, 80% of American mothers in married or cohabiting households say they’re the ones who usually cook and grocery shop. Only about 1 in 5 fathers say the same. And just 11% of dads say they handle both tasks themselves.
Are there places where things are more balanced? A few. Countries with the smallest gender gaps in cooking tend to be in Europe—Spain, the UK, France, Switzerland, and Ireland. And there’s exactly one country where men actually cook more than women.
Guess where?
Italy.
Yeah, that one surprised the researchers too. There’s no clear explanation why, so feel free to insert your own theory involving pasta, matriarchs, or food culture.
What does all this mean for OP?
Well, cooking isn’t just about who makes dinner. It’s about who has the time, energy, and mental space to organize dinner, including meal planning, shopping, prepping, timing. When one partner is doing all of that on top of their own responsibilities, and the other just assumes it’ll get done, that’s not balance. That’s burnout.
Hopefully, she finds a solution that works, and one that respects her time just as much as his meal schedule.
Readers questioned why, if the meals are so simple, the man doesn’t just make them himself
