This is the hidden, generational cost of the imbalanced marriage. The problem is not just that Sarah is exhausted and John is oblivious. The problem is that they are, with every passing day, modeling a blueprint for future relationships that their children will internalize as “normal.” The home is the first classroom for love. It is where children learn the definitions of “husband,” “wife,” “mother,” and “father"

Before you can fix the problem, you must first learn to see it. The "mental load" is not the tasks themselves. It is the cognitive work of managing the tasks. It is the 100-tab browser open in her mind, 24/7. Your browser has one tab open: "Work Project." Her browser has: "Buy birthday gift for your nephew," "Schedule dentist appointment for daughter," "Figure out what's for dinner," "Notice you're almost out of toothpaste," "Pay the electric bill," and "Worry about son's weird cough."

The couple stops fighting about the chores because they have stopped expecting anything from each other. They retreat into parallel lives. He focuses on his work and his hobbies; she focuses on the children and the logistics. They orbit each other in the kitchen, polite but distant, managing the business of the family while the soul of the marriage withers. Society often normalizes this. We share jokes about the "old ball and chain" or the "nagging wife," tropes that act as cultural anesthesia,