The way that couples negotiate the division of household chores in the first two years of marriage is important because, once patterns are established, they persist over time.
"Newly-weds need to thoughtfully plan how they can make their expectations about sharing chores work out in real life, especially if the new spouses strongly value gender equality in household labour,” Ogolsky noted.
“This issue will only matter more after children start arriving," he added.
The study examined the beliefs, behaviours and marital quality of 220 heterosexual newlywed couples.