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"You deserve better": Mom leaves her husband after he refuses to clean up for 6 days straight

That's the sound of women everywhere applauding.

via @5kids5catssomedogstoo/TikTok

Lynalice Bandy shares what her home looks like after working six 10-hour days and getting no help from her husband.

Household inequity is getting better in some households. In others, it's completely out of control. A viral TikTok video highlights an extreme version of inequality that many wives and mothers in heterosexual relationships face. However, the mom in this story hit her limit and won’t deal with it anymore. Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

Her time-lapse video shows every room in the house completely trashed, with toys, food, and laundry scattered everywhere. "Shampoo on the carpets in the girls' room, nail polish all over nugget covers, hair, and carpet. Scissors were used to cut hair, the down comforter, the mattress cover, and two nugget covers," wrote the mom. “I’ve worked six, ten-hour days in a row with only one day off being a sick day,” she captioned the video. “I’d like to pretend I’m not the only person who cleans here, but as you can see…These rooms don’t get much attention when I’m not here."


@5kids2catsandsomechaos

#divorce #parentingfail #messyhouse #whenwomen #depressionanxiety #clean #satifying

She says her husband’s excuse was that he was focused on doing his schoolwork and couldn’t pay attention to the kids. "Now, that school is out for a break, he doesn't have that excuse anymore," Bandy says, noting that all of his attention has been focused on “the four vehicles in our driveway that he wants to work on continuously.”

In a follow-up video, Bandy announced that she left her husband after the debacle.

The original video received over 17,000 comments, many of which were from supportive women. "You deserve much better, and he deserves to be alone. Much love to you from someone that left that life behind almost 20 yrs ago. You'll get here, too," Angela LaRoche wrote.

"Ma’am, you are nothing short of amazing! Hang in there!" Japanese with Jenny wrote. "That home is beautiful because of YOU," Hillary added. "You put in so much work, and it is not unseen by me and so many others. But, you DO deserve better. Proud of you."

@5kids2catsandsomechaos

Sounds about right…

Even though Bandy’s experience with her husband is an extreme case of a couple whose domestic duties are way out of balance, it points to a problem that plagues many households. Even though it’s 2025 and families are becoming more equal, women still do significantly more housework than men.

A study utilizing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey found that women 15 years and older spend 5.7 hours daily doing housework and looking after kids and elders. Men in the same age group do an average of 3.6 hours of daily domestic work. That’s a 37% difference in time spent on household responsibilities.

domestic duties, marriage inequality, lazy husbands, messy houses, household chores, upset woman, tired woman A woman who is upset that she has to do chores again.via Canva/Photos

Further, women who work an average of 35 hours a week spend 4.9 hours a day on household chores and child care, while men who work the same amount spend an average of 3.8 hours.

The comments show that many women are frustrated with their husbands for not doing their fair share. Hopefully, this video will encourage more people to speak out about domestic inequality and for more men to step up and do their part.

Nearly two years after Lynalice left her husband, she and her five children are living together in a new home. Her recent videos show that she's having difficulty keeping it clean because she's been working 60-plus hours a week and suffers from ADHD. Being the single mother of five has to be tough, so she has developed a new motto: "Progress, not perfection." In November 2024, she shared a video of her and her family getting things together in their new home.

@5kids2catsandsomechaos

Can you spot how many times Winky sits in a box or plops for belly rubs? #cleaning #messyhouse #clean #timelapse #oddlysatisfying #grwm #carpetcleaning #cattok

This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.

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New York woman discovers rare 2.3-carat diamond, intends to use it for future engagement ring

After three weeks of digging through the dirt, Micherre Fox proved life’s most meaningful treasures are worth the effort to find them.

Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park

31-year-old Micherre Fox with her prized diamond

In a world where love seems to be weighed in carats and measured by a suitor’s purchasing power, Micherre Fox boldly chose a different path. When she and her partner began discussing marriage two years ago, the New Yorker quickly realized that her engagement—and the ring that comes with it—didn’t have to follow some predetermined social norm. It could mean something.

From then on, Fox was determined to make her engagement ring a unique reflection of her beliefs about marriage: determination, perseverance, and the ability to overcome challenges.

That meant store-bought diamonds were off the counter. Fox would have to find one herself.

woman, diamond, park, carats, engagement Could you have spotted Fox's diamond?Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park

“There’s something symbolic about solving problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage,” she explains. “You need to be willing and able to address those issues with hard work.”

Despite the skepticism from her social circle, Fox and her partner decided to postpone their engagement for a month. This was not a delay, but an opportunity for Fox to symbolically commit to the hard work and dedication that she believes a successful marriage requires.

So, after graduating with a master’s degree in management from Fordham University, the 31-year-old packed her bags and flew halfway across the country to Arkansas, where a month-long treasure hunt awaited her at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Yes, you read that right. Fox went diamond hunting.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The only place in the world

Although Fox was “willing to go anywhere in the world” to turn her D.I.Y. diamond dream into a reality, her research led her to a surprising discovery: she wouldn’t need to jet set overseas, or even pull out her passport. Everything her heart desired could be found in a 37-acre field in Pike County, Arkansas.

Among the tall pines of Murfreesboro lies Crater of Diamonds State Park, the “only place in the world” where the public can search for and keep the diamonds they find. For just $15 a day, Fox was finally free to scour the volcanic crater’s eroded surface, which has been revealing rarities and artifacts since 1906.

crater, arkansas, diamonds, state park, volcanic Welcome to the "Crater."Credit: Amy, Flickr

Affectionately known as the “Crater” to locals, the park’s glimmering bounty comes from a one-million-year-old natural anomaly: an eroded volcanic formation, or volcanic pipe, that possessed the power to bring diamonds up to the earth’s surface, like bubbles in a Champagne flute. There are other sparkling treasures to be found, too.

21 days of dirt and despair

On July 8, 2025, Fox arrived at Crater of Diamonds State Park, ready to spend the next three weeks searching for her prized rock. The search was anything but glamorous. Unlike Indiana Jones tracking the Sankara stones in the Temple of Doom, Fox was stuck solo, systematically combing through the sticky, dark gray soil known to local farmers as “Black Gumbo.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Rainfall helped but also didn't, with showers washing away dirt and uncovering anything near the surface, while simultaneously introducing humus, or decomposed plant and animal matter, to the soil, making it even stickier and more challenging to work through. Park staff plowed the field regularly. And yet, Fox remained empty-handed, pushing through growing physical exhaustion and mounting disappointment.

“I was coming to terms with the fact I was likely leaving without a diamond,” she told The New York Times.

Although the park averages one to two diamonds a day, with visitors finding more than 600 diamonds annually, these are usually teeny gemstones. The average size of a diamond found here is about the size of a match head—definitely not the heft, symbolically and literally, that Fox was hoping to find.

But Fox had made a commitment—to herself, to her partner, and to the values she wanted their engagement to represent.

That magic moment

On July 29—her very last day at the park—Fox was walking along the West Drain area when something caught her eye. Could it be?

“Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn’t know for sure, but it was the most ‘diamond-y diamond’ I had seen,” Fox later recalled.


quarter, diamond, park, carats, engagement Micherre's raw diamond, with a quarter for context. Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park

She hurried to the Diamond Discovery Center, where the staff confirmed her discovery. It was a white, or colorless, diamond, about the size of a human canine tooth. Fox, overwhelmed with joy, named it the “Fox-Ballou Diamond,” after their last names. It had a smooth, rounded shape and a beautiful metallic luster, precisely what every bride-to-be hopes for in an engagement ring.

Oh, and the Fox-Ballou Diamond weighs a whopping 2.3 carats. It’s the third-largest diamond found in the park this year.

A rock that truly rocks

Fox’s diamond now ranks among the Crater’s most significant finds, like this year’s reigning champion, Minnesota resident David DeCook, who found a 3.81-carat brown diamond in April after just one hour of searching, naming it “The Duke Diamond” after his dog.

But the value of the Fox-Ballou Diamond lies far beyond its size or market worth.

Natural diamond prices have declined significantly from their pandemic-era peaks, falling nearly 30% from their 2022 highs due to reduced demand from economic uncertainty, technological advances, and changing consumer attitudes towards laboratory-grown diamonds, particularly among younger generations who prioritize sustainability and ethical sourcing.

In an era of instant gratification and digital shortcuts, Fox’s three-week quest represents something increasingly rare: the willingness to work for something meaningful rather than simply purchasing it—all while maintaining your values. It can seem impossible for love to flourish in today’s wedding industrial complex. Still, as Fox proves, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work, you can have your dream engagement ring without reinforcing the value of earth-mined stones (there are many ethical concerns regarding “blood diamonds” and environmental destruction associated with traditional mining operations).


- YouTube www.youtube.com

Modern love

The average price of a 2.3-carat diamond is currently $27,037, according to diamond price aggregate StoneAlgo. However, a diamond of that size can cost anywhere from $7,172–$66,766, depending on the diamond’s shape, color, clarity, and other factors.

That is, if Fox were looking to sell it. (She’s definitely not.)

When she returned home to New York, she proudly walked up to her boyfriend and presented him with a box containing the diamond, The New York Times reports.

His response?

“I’ll say this, I certainly have to find a way to live up to this now," he explains. "She’s dealt her cards and now it’s my turn to put together something impressive, and I’m really looking forward to that.”

Until then, we’ll hang onto Fox’s story as proof that when we’re willing to dig deep—literally and metaphorically—for the things that matter most, we often discover treasures far more valuable.

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Nicole Kidman fesses up to the unorthodox phone rule she has with husband Keith Urban

It sounds weird, but the couple has been married for 19 years — so they must be doing something right.

Galeria de burningkarma, CC BY 2.0

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman share one secret that's helped sustain their 19 year marriage.

Long before Nicole Kidman began her long-term relationship with AMC theaters, she was committed to husband and country singer Keith Urban. The two have happily been together since 2006—which is a good run for any modern day marriage, but most certainly a Hollywood one. Celebrity marriages have been shown in some studies to be more likely than your average relationship to end in divorce. These marriages certainly feel volatile to us normie outsiders. When big-time celebrities split, it's often very public, all over entertainment news and TMZ, and often pinned (rightly or not) on steamy affairs with other celebrities.

So for Kidman and Urban to be going strong almost 20 years later, it indicates they're definitely doing something right inside their home. Perhaps their nearly decades-long success can be partially attributed to one surprising communication rule: no texting.

While appearing on the Something To Talk About podcast in 2023, Kidman shared that she was the one who initiated the unconventional agreement to (almost) never send text messages to each other.

nicole kidman keith urban, nicole kidman, keith urban, marriage, communication, marriage tips, divorce, celebrity marriage, love, family Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman look really happy together, but like any marriage, it takes work. Giphy

"We never text each other, can you believe that? We started out that way – I was like, 'If you want to get a hold of me, call me…"I wasn't really a texter.,” the Moulin Rouge actress shared.

She added that while Urban did attempt texting her a few items early on, he eventually switched when Kidman wasn’t very responsive. And now, 18 years later, they only call each other.

“We just do voice to voice or skin to skin, as we always say. We talk all the time and we FaceTime but we just don’t text because I feel like texting can be misrepresentative at times…I don’t want that between my lover and I,” she told Parade.

There are, of course, some pros and cons to calling over texting. Research has shown that people who call feel more connected to one another vs. texting, with the voice being an integral component of bonding.

As our society becomes increasingly more distant and lonely, finding those moments might be more important than ever.

At the same time, calling can invoke a lot more anxiety compared to texting, which could lead someone to not communicating at all. Also, I don’t know about you, but the thought of having to call my partner for mundane things like “don’t forget the eggs” would drive me crazy.

Still, Kidman is right that texting can be extremely fraught for anyone in a close romantic, family, or friend relationship. Tone is hard to gauge and it's easy to misinterpret someone's intention when you read their messages. Jokes can come across as serious statements or passive aggressive jabs. It's also easier to be snarky and combative over text when you don't have to look the person in the eye and sit in the discomfort.

Finally, Kidman and Urban may just be in that generational sweet spot where they're not big on texting. The couple are closing in on their 60s, making them elder members of Generation X. People in that generation, while tech-savvy enough, sometimes aren't as fluent in the nuances of texting tone, punctuation, and emoji use, which puts them at even greater risk of being misinterpreted and running into conflicts.

Kudos to them for being self-aware enough to dodge that minefield altogether.

Regardless of whether or not you adopt Kidman and Urban’s no-texting rule, perhaps the bigger takeaway is that relationship longevity depends on being able to establish your own rules.

One that feels good and that each partner is able to stick to. Especially when it comes to communication.

Some couples swear by the old "never go to bed angry," school of thought. Others have unique rules or schedules to keep the romantic side of their lives before. There's no universal right way to do it, but the couples who communicate and come up with their own guardrails are definitely on the right track.

As Urban himself told E! News at the CMT Music Awards, "I have no advice for anybody. You guys figure out whatever works for you…We're figuring it out. You figure it out. Everybody's different. There's no one size fits all."

Luckily, there are many ways to have good text hygiene, without having to do away with it completely. Very Well Mind suggests to avoid texting too many questions, and to be respectful of your partner's schedule (probably best to not text them while they’re sleeping just to say “hey,” for example). Nor should texting be used to argue or deal with conflict. Lastly, probably save the lengthy, in-depth conversations for a phone call. Fifteen heart emojis are totally fine though.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard reveal why they regularly discuss people they're attracted to

"He pauses the Olympics on a lot of runners."

via The Walt Disney Company / Flickr
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard open up about being attracted to other people - and why that's OK

In a relationship, it can be a little uncomfortable when a super attractive person comes on the TV. Maybe a beautiful actress or a handsome athlete. How couples handle these moments can actually tell you a lot about them and their relationship. Do they talk about it? Squirm in silence?

One of the ways to tell if you're in a healthy relationship is whether you and your partner are free to talk about other people you find attractive. For many couples, bringing up such a sensitive topic can cause some major jealousy.

dax shepard, kristen bell, celebrity couples, frozen, armchair expert, marriage, marriage advice, couples therapy, relationship tips OK, maybe don't do this around your partner. Or ever. Giphy

Of course, there's a healthy way to approach such a potentially dangerous topic. Telling your partner you find someone else attractive shouldn't be about making them feel jealous. It's probably also best that if you're attracted to a coworker, friend, or their sibling, that you keep it to yourself.

But, being open about your sexual feelings, can be a way to spice things up in the bedroom and to let your partner know what you like.

Actress and mental health advocate Kristen Bell admits that she and her husband, actor Dax Shepard, have learned how to be open about their attraction to other people.


dax shepard, kristen bell, celebrity couples, frozen, armchair expert, marriage, marriage advice, couples therapy, relationship tips Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are one of the most relatable couples in Hollywood.By MingleMediaTVNetwork - Kristen Bell, CC BY-SA 2.0

The couple believes that being able to talk about such taboo topics without making each other jealous is a great way to preserve their relationship.

"He can tell me someone he finds attractive, female or male, 'cause he pauses the Olympics on a lot of runners, but it doesn't make me feel like he's going to leave me for that person because I'm not allowing my self-esteem to be affected," she explained.

Bell believes that it's completely normal and healthy for people in monogamous relationships to be attracted to other people.

"I know there are people on planet Earth that are more attractive than me, and well, we're not dead. I have to acknowledge we're monkeys," Bell said. As an attractive, famous couple working in Hollywood, there is extra pressure for them to be able to handle their jealousy.

Some couples might choose to keep their attraction to others a little closer to the vest, and that's OK, too. But if you feel like you have to lie or pretend that no one else on the planet is good looking, well, your relationship may have some communication issues to examine.

The couple has also done a good job at accepting the fact that Bell is the primary bread-winner in the family. Studies show men have higher levels of stress if their wives earn more than 40% of their home's combined income.

About a third of women in the U.S. make more than their husbands.

While Shepard has had a successful career, acting in films such as "Idiocracy" and "Without a Paddle," Bell has starred in some major hits including, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and the "Bad Moms" films.

She's also made a pretty penny voicing Princess Anna in Disney's "Frozen" franchise. Shephard's work on his successful podcast "Armchair Expert" has no doubt been a big boon for their family, but come on: Bell's got Disney money!

dax shepard, kristen bell, celebrity couples, frozen, armchair expert, marriage, marriage advice, couples therapy, relationship tips Kristen Bell plays Anna in Frozen, so her career has been going OK. Giphy

"I think I've always out-earned him," Bell said about their careers. "I got a lot of opportunity, you're sharing in it, we're able to provide for a ton of our family members who may or may not be struggling," she continued, as if addressing Shepard. "I don't look at it like, 'This is mine and this is yours.' I'm like, 'This is ours. Get over it.'"

Bell and Shepard have also worked through his very public battles with addiction, including a relapse after a motorcycle accident in 2020. FHE Health writes, "Bell shared [at the time] that Dax was forthcoming with her about falling back into the desire to use and communicated that he wanted her help coming up with a new plan for how to keep him sober."

Bell believes that the couple's ability to get over petty jealousy is one way to make sure their unique relationship stands the test of time. But it's not just about suppressing jealousy. It's about open, honest communication; even when it's hard or uncomfortable. That, truly, is one of the bedrocks of a successful marriage.

"Do you want to be on the porch with someone when you're 80?" Bell asked. "We both want that."

No one knows the inner workings of anyone else's relationship, of course, but from the outside, Bell and Shepard sure seem like great role models for how to keep love alive in a longterm marriage.

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.


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