COURT ORDERS MAN TO PAY EX-WIFE FOR HOUSEWORK DURING MARRIAGE

A Chinese divorce court has ordered a man to pay $7,700 to his ex-wife for domestic services she rendered during their marriage. The groundbreaking ruling is the first case concerning a recently enacted law that may require breadwinning ex-spouses to cover the years their partner spent cooking, cleaning, raising children, nursing elder relatives or otherwise supporting the family from home. The couple in question, whose identities are limited to their surnames — Wang and Chen — were married for five years, two of which they spent separated before ultimately filing for divorce in 2020. Ms. Wang has argued that she is entitled to compensation for the two years she reared their son with no substantial input from ex-husband Mr. Chen. The court awarded Wang full custody of their son and ordered Chen to pay his family 2,000 yuan ($300) per month going forward and an additional 50,000 yuan ($7,700) for the chores and child care duties that Wang performed during marriage.
* Yikes. Honey, if you’re listening, I’ll do the dishes tonight.
* At $7,700, he’s getting off easy.
* Is this how we get men to do more housework? You bet it is.
* How will men react? Look for sales of Roombas and dishwashers to take a jump.
* This story is right on target. Everyone knows that being the other “breadwinning” spouse – punching in at a brain-killing soul-crushing job every day to bring home a paycheck – is a cakewalk.