Did your mum stop cooking when your dad left?

Urgh. I would divorce a man who only wanted meat and two veg.

My parents never separated but when I split up with DD’s dad I actually cooked much more.

Partly because DD’s dad was a great cook so I had to lean in a bit when he moved out. But also because I enjoyed being at home so much more after he left.

Imagine cooking for other people's tastes and wants and not your own, all your life. Urgh. I'm glad I've never been like that.

I wish women were more for themselves. Good for all these women who were finally free and lived as they wished. How liberating it must have felt.

My grandmother in law cooks meat and 2 veg every day because her husband doesn't like anything else. Imagine loving pasta, curry and Chinese food, but not being "allowed" to eat it.

Fuck. That.

In fairness to my mum, however, I would have to say that my dad left her for her best friend who was also her colleague at work. So, not only did she have to cope with being blindsided by my dad's departure, she also lost her 'friend' and had to find another job because she didn't feel she could go on working alongside her.

Meanwhile, we were two completely self-centred teens who couldn't see any of this until years later. With hindsight, it's a miracle she managed to find the wherewithall to keep us supplied with crispy pancakes!

Tbf I cook homemade meals most nights (DH also cooks) and I’ve often pondered whether I’d bother if I was on my own (and how much slimmer I’d be).

I would cook, but I’d make simple things that would last me a few days to save daily cooking. Eating the same thing a few days running wouldn’t bother me at all.

Yes, this. Also little pizzas from the freezer. And once M&S started ready meals, that was it! She was widowed young and left with 4 kids….and while she could cook well, very well, she just couldn’t be arsed.

I can imagine there’s lot of joy for people who had to cook dinner for years, to be ‘allowed’ to stop

My dad died last year. Mum is loving not having to cook for a fussy old man after 60 years of it, so yes, I have noticed it. She is very happy with much simpler options and eating what she likes instead of what he did. I suspect this is very common in 'traditional' households where all the drudgery is on the woman to think of what to cook, buy the food and prepare it.

I know that when I am on my own, I don't bother cooking properly. I graze on whatever is quick and easy. It is one of the things I miss about solo living, and that is with a husband who does his share.

I went through a spell initially of buying ready meals like pizzas etc until my teenagers rebelled and asked for 'proper' meals, so I did go back to cooking with the occasional pizza etc meal. I know you can make your own pizza but I didn't have the space in my brain to go that route! It worked itself out. My dd went to uni to study Food technology and used to make amazing meals when she came home. My ds eventually became vegetarian and cooks fabulous veggie meals too.

I meant Findus pancakes of course! Couldn't remember the name!

We crossed with the findus pancakes!

My brother and I both remember an awful lot of crispy pancakes after my dad left. Can't remember what we had with them though - it's decades ago and I don't think oven chips had been invented then.

It was donkeys years ago but I do remember being able to pick which findus pancake to have for dinner! And followed by a supermousse!

I used to cook proper family meals - fish pie, lasagne, chicken casserole - every night when my kids were at home.
Now it’s just my husband and me I cook maybe 3-4 proper meals a week and we have ready meals the rest.
If my husband died I’d make myself jacket potatoes, omelettes and salads. I’d pick up M&S salads and sometimes have porridge for dinner. I’d only make a proper meal if my kids were home or I was entertaining.

Chicken Findus pies and oven chips or frozen pizza, for years. It wasn't much better before, but there was more variety and some fresh stuff.

She made herself a sort of kedgerie which just seemed to stay there forever.

if my OH left i would probably just eat crisps.