A young couple signed a 'living together prenup ' after getting into arguments about chores - and now they have legally defined the tasks that each has to do around the house. Dylan Smith, 24, works for a solicitors firm so while he was at work he asked a coworker to draw up the unusual agreement.
The legally-binding document covers everything from cooking to cleaning, and even has clauses for what happens if Dylan and his partner, 21-year-old Emily Flowers, break up. Dylan, from Sudbury, Suffolk, said the agreement has removed all the tension from their relationship as now if there's any doubt about who's in the wrong, all they have to do is pull out the document and take a look.
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Dylan, who works for Atkins Dellow, said: "Me and Emily kept having arguments about it and tensions were rising, so I just thought this would help put a lot of things to bed and it really has. Now that I know what I have to do, I'm much happier than being asked to do it all the time.
"We'd argue about if I left a lot of bowls upstairs. I'm an avid gamer so I play my computer quite a lot and spend a lot of my spare time doing that.
"I'd leave bowls and plates and glasses upstairs in the office on my desk. I wouldn't know what to do, because Emily is the sort of person where if she's not busy she drives herself crazy, so she's happy to do the housework but she doesn't want to do everything.
"I thought it would drive her nuts if I took too much off her.
"Quite a lot of people are in a similar position with moving out with their girlfriends for the first time, but the main thing for us is that we've taken action to set up a living together agreement
"There are clauses about if we break up, about who gets what, and two months afterwards the person who moved out would be liable for bills, and making sure that everything that has been a permanent addition, like washing machines, have been taken into account."
Currently, Dylan works Monday to Friday, nine to five, so doesn't have a lot of time at home, while Emily is a student so she's only busy four days a week.
They agreed that because of the free-time deficit, Emily does more of the chores.
Dylan continued: "We've agreed that I'll cook two times a week, and on the weekend I'll do the mopping and hoovering, and I'll do the lawn and take out the bins. She does pretty much everything else.
"It's hard to explain, but that's who she is - she loves projects, she can't sit still for five minutes. She doesn't even sit through a movie.
"With her working four days a week, it makes sense for her to take on more - that's what I was thinking at the time. She didn't feel brilliant about it, that's why we made the agreement in the first place.
"She used some harsh words, like called me lazy and things like that.
"We abide by the agreement, I feel like it helps me have more structure in what I'm doing around the house. I come from a family where I'm a momma's boy.
"I went home during the pandemic and my mum went back to doing everything for me, I had to relearn how to do life on my own.
"I had to relearn general housework, the laundry, cooking, she did all the washing up. it was like learning to take care of myself again.
"My partner has taken on most of that role now, I've got better since the agreement, she would agree with that. I get things out of the way, in the agreement the stuff I have to do I'll get it out the way first thing so I don't have to think about it."
While Emily looks after the house and makes most of the food, Dylan washes some pots, mops the floors on weekends, and will make two meals a week - but he admits he likes to keep it simple as he doesn't enjoy spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
He continued: "I cook chorizo and mozzarella gnocchi and meatball pasta bake, I'm quite good at cooking - it's just I don't like to spend too much time doing something for not much reward.
"In uni, I would just eat something very quick each day, but as it's two days a week I can devote a bit more time to it.
"In my spare time I love football, but I don't support a team, I used to swim competitively, which I'd like to get back into soon, and I watch a lot of UFC too. I also like YouTube and movies and stuff.
"We like to do things like go out on walks go out on date nights, just normal stuff really, we don't have a specific interest together, it's hard to even really watch stuff together because Emily's attention span dwindles if anything lasts more than half an hour - we just kind of hang out.
"We talk all the time and like to go to the cinema, weirdly she can sit through that - because the distractions have been taken away I guess.
"We go shopping, we love TK Maxx. She loves shoes, she's eyeing up a pair of pink Jordans that she wants me to get her for Christmas. We'll have to see what Santa brings if she's been good.
"I also build computers, I built one for her. I'm trying to get her into it so she'll play games with me. I play all kinds of games, Rocket League , FIFA, Counter Strike, Valerant.
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"We've lived together since June this year, it's been bliss to be honest - since sorting out the agreement we haven't had any arguments about anything - as that was all that got between us. I didn't like being nagged to do things and she didn't like me to do nothing.
"Now we've got that sorted out it's been brilliant.
"There is a plan for weddings and stuff like that, mainly led by Emily, she's said things like when she graduates, the year after she wants to be maybe looking towards wedding bells, and she's said she wants a family in five years time."
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