Marriage is complicated. Usually, it is made up of compromise and sacrifice on the part of both parties. It also takes effort and patience, but in the end, is a testament to the love that two individuals have for each other. So, what is the secret of the marriage of one of the richest couples in the world? By helping each other around the house.

Is that spontaneous enough for you?

It all started at an Expo trade-fair in New York. When Bill Gates met his eventual wife Melinda, he was smitten almost immediately. Only two weeks after they met her wanted to take her out, but asking Melinda out was not as easy as Gates had though it would be.

“That’s not spontaneous enough for me. Ask me out closer to the dates,” Melinda told Gates at the time.

Not to be deterred, Gates waited until later that day before asking her out again, this time for that evening. He even had the perfect response to her earlier statement:

“Is this spontaneous enough for you?”

Of course, the rest was history after that.

A marriage of over 20 years

Getting married in 1994, Bill and Melinda Gates eventually had three children together — Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory. Having such a long marriage, 20 plus years, the couple often gets asked about how they maintain their relationship, even after all of these years. Their answer was simple, do things together and share the balance of the household chores.

Making their marriage stronger

But getting to that point was not easy. Melinda had to work hard at first to get Gates to form an equal relationship with her. Working at Microsoft, Gates was often exposed to Microsoft’s high-testosterone working environment, but that all changed one night after dinner.

“One night I realized I was still in the kitchen a good 10 to 15 minutes after everybody else doing the last-minute things. Sometimes in the moment my frustration or anger just comes out. So, one night we stood up after dinner and people in the family started to melt away, like, they go upstairs. So, hand on my hips I’m like, ‘Nobody leaves the kitchen until I leave the kitchen!’” Melinda told USA Today.

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Now, the two wash the dishes together almost every night. This nightly ritual has helped to strengthen their marriage and has made Gates an ally in Melinda’s fight for equal rights for women. Also, Bill and Melinda Gates work together in the areas of health development and energy, and run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation together.

Melinda’s experience with Gates and their marriage has shown her that sometimes something as simple as doing the dishes together can be the glue that binds a couple together and leads to a long and happy relationship.

H/T: Shareably, Bored Daddy