A video of a mom ditching her meal preparation plans after receiving a message from her husband that he won’t be home for dinner has gone viral on TikTok, with other moms commenting online about what they do when faced with a similar situation.
The clip was recently posted by TikTok user @maverickmother, who is a mother of five, according to her TikTok profile. The video has had 1.5 million views since it was shared the social media platform.
A message overlaid on the clip reads: “POV: Your husband texts to say he won’t be home for dinner, so you start the ‘No Dad Dinner.'”
The footage shows a woman standing over a kitchen counter about to cut open some packages of food placed on a cutting board. She then pulls out her phone from her sweatshirt pocket and reads a message on it.
After reading the message, grinning to herself, the woman sweeps the unopened food packages to the side and pulls out containers of cereal and places them on the counter. Grabbing a wine glass from behind the containers, the woman is seen taking a sip from it while walking away as the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post says: “Music to my ears. Jokes aside my ‘No Daddy Dinner’ is in fact pasta & sauce. Quick and easy.”
Newsweek has contacted @maverickmother for comment via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.
The mom’s need for a break from meal prepping duties in the latest viral clip is understandable as household and family responsibilities were found to be falling more on mothers than even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a 2023 survey of nearly 10,000 mothers in the U.S. conducted by Motherly, a lifestyle brand.
“Possibly because more women are choosing to become SAHMs [stay at home mothers] than in previous years and more partners have returned to the workplace, we see an uptick across the board on duties like scheduling, errands, cleaning, meal prep and so on among mothers who have partners,” the survey said.
In 2023, 58 percent of moms reported they are “primarily responsible for the duties of running a household and caring for children,” marking a 2 percent rise from 2022. Just under a third (32 percent) said they share responsibilities equally with a partner, down 2 percent from the year prior, according to the survey.
‘I Can’t Be Bothered’
TikTok users could relate to the mother’s elation in the latest viral clip.
User @heidisrandomness4 commented: “i love making no dad dinner!! we all eat whatever we want it’s great!”
MrDevon added: “We call it a picnic tea. Basically translates as ‘help yourself in the fridge cos I cant be bothered.'”
Kate Bukauski wrote: “‘No dad dinner’ over here is tortilla pizza (flour tortillas, formato sauce with Italian seasoning, any type of shredded cheese, pepperoni. Bake).”
Jenn Ackerson noted: “Ok moms, Why do we do this?! When the hubby goes out of town out come the paper plates and bowls along with the Kraft Mac n cheese.”
User ffion hunt commented: “No dad dinner here tonight. Cheese on toast.”
DeAnna Robinson wrote: “My son and I eat on the couch and share a random charcuterie board. We love it lol.”
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Photo-illustration by Newsweek
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.