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He claims the office is "his property."
By Nia Tipton — Written on Jan 31, 2023
While working from home can be challenging for some people, one woman was left flabbergasted at a demand from her husband regarding her work-from-home office.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — she explained that she's been working from home for the past two months.
"My husband bought the house we live in before we got together. He calls it his property which's fine by me," she wrote in her Reddit post, adding that their house only has two rooms so she turned the empty one into her office.
Her husband told her she needs to pay him 30% of her salary for using their home office to work from home.
Since working in her new office, everything had been going smoothly, until her husband sat her down one day to tell her something.
He told her that he will be "expecting [a] 30% 'profit'" from the salary she gets at her job since he "provides" her access to the office in their home.
Of course, his wife was extremely confused and shocked by his declaration.
He tried to explain that he wants a cut of her salary because their house is "his home" and that she's using a room in the home that he owns which is technically "his property."
"I said no and called him unreasonable which led to a blowup," she said. "I yelled at him saying he won't get a penny and he pitched a fit and accused me of 'taking full advantage' even though there's no mortgage to be paid."
She also shared that all the chores in the house are done by her, and they pay all the bills equally.
After declining to share her salary, her husband has now gotten his entire family involved in their disagreement.
"His mom thinks I'm being difficult and that 30% is not a huge amount, and that this room is providing 'stability' for my [work-from-home office], so my husband should get some sort of benefits."
Most people who commented on the woman's post agreed that she was NTA (Not The A-hole).
"That’s an extremely toxic way of thinking he has. You two are supposed to be partners who support each other and have each other’s backs," one user wrote.
Another user added, "Your husband is being unreasonable, and is clearly signaling to you that the house you live in is not your home. That is not a situation I would want to be in, personally."
"You're his wife, not a tenant. There's something very controlling about this - it gives me the creeps. What does he need/want the money for?" a third user pointed out.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.