Men have been sharing their marriage ‘cheat codes’ and these 17 may (or may not!) actually work

Married couples will tell you that their relationships require a lot of work to maintain. But it also turns out that there are secret hacks that help them along.

Thanks to Reddit user Curious-Repair-2606, husbands can learn how to navigate marriage more successfully. And that’s because they turned to r/AskReddit for relationship advice by posing this question:

‘Men: What’s a “cheat code” you discovered in marriage that actually works?’

Here are the top replies every married man should take note of…

1.
‘Verbally acknowledging each other’s contributions to the household.

“Thanks for cleaning up after dinner, it looks great.”

“Thanks for taking the kids to soccer practice”

“Thanks for grabbing groceries, this is my favorite cheese”

‘So on and so forth. By acknowledging each other’s day to day (and sometimes mundane) contributions, it builds appreciation and prevents animosity. It also prevents certain tasks from being “assigned” to a person with the expectation that it’s theirs forever and that’s “just how it is.”’
-Pomegranate_Calm

2.
‘When I feel like my wife is feeling a little down or when I feel like we’re not connecting emotionally, I will ask her about something she is passionate about and just get her talking. And I will ask questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no. She will go from sitting back with her arms folded to leaning forward, talking excitedly.

‘Often, people feel closer to someone simply by talking to that person and being heard. And everyone feels good talking about their favorite things.

‘Also, if you have something difficult to talk about, wait until they are in a good mood.’
-mostlycareful

3.
‘If your wife asks you if you want ice cream, she wants ice cream. Feel free to replace ice cream with anything.’
-Easywood

4.
‘Relationships aren’t a zero sum game, the only way to win is when you win together so approach all disagreements with that approach.’
-smisakso

5.
‘Keep a note on your phone for gift ideas. When she points out something she likes or wants to do, write it down in the note or snap a pic and insert it. See something you think she’d like? Write it down. Also, keep her clothing and shoe sizes in the note as well.

‘Also, google “mental load” and learn about the imbalances that tend to occur. Take more of it on.’
-vfettke

6.
‘You never get yelled at while vacuuming’
-darkbrokendisj

7.
‘Never stop “dating” your wife , kiss often’
-neighborPromotion82

8.
‘Not me but my brother said he finds a lot of success by doing things around the house before she can even ask lol.
She’ll be like, “Can you take out the trash?” Him: Already did it.

‘He used to do this to my mom when we were younger too ’
-kmagfy001

9.
‘Never leave the house without giving her a kiss. Even if it’s just a peck on the cheek.’
-SinamonChallengerRT