Japanese television recently featured the unusual story of a young couple who, despite being married for two years, still go Dutch about everything from expenses to house chores.
39-year-old Aiko and her 42-year-old husband, Kazuki, met at a video-game production company, and after going out on a few dates, they quickly realized that they had very different interests. That didn’t mean they were incompatible, though, so they decided to continue their relationship, while remaining as independent as possible. And even though they tied the knot very early into their relationship, they continued to go Dutch, and have done so to this day. Their unusual arrangement recently attracted the attention of a popular TV show in Japan, where they revealed exactly how they make it work.
Apparently, Aiko and Kazuki share vey few things. They only eat together on holidays, otherwise preferring to eat separate dishes, at separate times. They have very different tastes in food, so they cook their own separate meals. They sleep in the same room, but each have their own one-person bed. They split all utility bills, the rent, and any other common expense. That’s just the way they like it.
The two have always preferred their independence. For example, when they got married, they didn’t get the same style of wedding ring, because they couldn’t agree on a design, so they got different rings. They couldn’t agree on a honeymoon destination either, so they decided to just do things separately.
Kazuki spends more time at work, so Aiko is in charge of housecleaning, but she doesn’t do it for free. They agreed on an hourly fee, so the husband reportedly pays her 1,500 yen per hour. They also agreed to each have two hours of TV time every day, and to have their own personal hygiene products, from toilet paper, to shower gel, soap, etc.
Most of those who watched Aiko and Kazuki’s story on “Follow Your Home” (家ついて行ってイイですか), saud that they couldn’t imagine living in such a marriage, and that the two behaved more like roommates than as husband and wife.
“It’s so boring, marriage becomes meaningless, are they really happy?” one person wondered.
The couple insisted that this is just their way of guaranteeing a happy marriage. They are very different people and they are convinced that doing things together would just cause friction between them This way, they never have to argue about anything…
This isn’t the first “going Dutch marriage” we’ve ever covered. Last year, we wrote about a Chinese couple who had been splitting everything from money to house chores for 30 years.
