For most men in their thirties, scrubbing kitchen surfaces and hanging out their mother’s laundry would hardly be a dream career.
But for self-described ‘stay-at-home son’ Luke Parkhurst, moving back under his mother Patty’s roof in Las Vegas and taking care of the home has come as a welcome relief.
Around seven months ago, the 34-year-old former salesman packed up his life and forfeited his $190,000 (£144,000) salary in Houston, Texas, in a bid for a ‘simpler’ and more ‘fulfilling’ life.
Now, instead of drinking in seedy city bars, going after women and chasing ‘instant gratification’, he spends his days cleaning up after Patty, folding laundry, sweeping the floor and cooking steak for the pair every night.
‘I do household chores in exchange for living under my mum’s roof,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s kind of my career these days.’
Meanwhile, his mother, an air hostess, heads out each day to earn the family’s keep, ensuring that the bills and mortgage are paid, even footing the bill when Luke takes a girl out on a date.
Unlike a rising population of people in their twenties and thirties moving back in with their parents due to soaring living costs, the move was not forced but was, in fact, chosen by Luke. In Houston, where he lived previously, he owned a home, though it’s not clear if it’s since been sold.
In January, it was reported that the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds living with their parents has risen by more than a third in less than two decades, according to a study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
For self-described ‘stay-at-home son’, Luke Parkhurst (pictured with his mother, Patty), living under his mother’s roof and taking care of the home is a welcome relief from city life
Researchers found that those living with parents are more likely to have seen ‘large declines in net wealth’ – moving to ‘hotel mum and dad’ following breakups or redundancies.
But Luke said he had always felt ‘unfulfilled’ by city life, adding: ‘I would rather live the life I have, not having money, than live the life I did with that type of income.’
The set-up has been compared to the ‘trad-wife’ trend, which has seen women leaving their jobs for cooking and cleaning at home, with some even seeking to emulate ‘1950s housewives’ by ‘putting their husbands first’.
Now, more and more videos of ‘stay-at-home-sons’ are cropping up online, with men increasingly seeking to play the role of homemaker.
Luke has exchanged his six-figure salary for weekly pocket money and access to Patty’s credit card, with which he does the food shop.
Even if he wants to take a girl out on a date, it’s his mother’s credit card that will foot the bill. But Luke still insists he’s the ‘most masculine man out there’.
He said: ‘Masculinity didn’t used to be about providing for the household or paying the bills; it used to be about hunting and fishing and fixing things.
‘Most people telling me it’s non-masculine are the ones who can’t do anything outdoors. The only masculine thing they can do is pay the bills, and pay someone to fix their leaky faucet.’
Luke was raised in an ‘agricultural, blue collar family’ in Utah but later moved to Las Vegas
Some women have been so shocked to discover that he’s a stay-at-home son that they haven’t believed him and, when he’s insisted, have described it as a ‘turn-off’.
Others have asked whether he feels his masculinity is impacted by taking on roles typically associated with femininity at home.
But Luke argued that it’s actually improved his dating life by helping him ‘filter out’ materialistic women.
He said: ‘I don’t want someone who’s wondering what my wall looks like or what car I drive.
‘I don’t think it hinders me too much. I wear it on my sleeve – I don’t try to hide it.
‘There’s a reason that I’m doing it instead of just being a deadbeat, so the women are more understanding.
‘There are some who are looking for someone who is a dependent, and I don’t want a wife like that. I don’t want someone who’s looking at me for materialistic things instead of trying to know me.’
Luke’s life looks drastically different these days. Instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to face the hustle and bustle of the city, he starts his day between 7 and 9am, immediately heading to the gym.
After working out, he then starts his chores for the day, starting with the food shop, before getting started with the cooking, including a nightly steak.
Describing his daily routine, he said: ‘My mum has always hated grocery shopping and cooking so I go to Costco.
Enjoying a ‘simpler’ life, Luke exchanged his six-figure salary for weekly pocket money and access to Patty’s credit card which he will do their food shopping with
‘We usually eat steak five days a week at least. Sometimes it’s even seven days of the week.’
Luke does most of the cooking, explaining: ‘We usually have a late lunch, but if she’s hungry I’ll whip her up a little snack or something.’
He then fills the afternoon with other chores, including his mother’s laundry, cleaning their pool and kitchen and doing the dishes.
‘I just do the household chores and then come the evening, my nieces or nephews are out of school, so I’ll drive them to soccer or go over to my sister’s and hang out,’ he explained.
He does nearly all the housework. ‘She probably even takes advantage of me being there,’ he said, though he doesn’t mind.
The study by the IFS in January found that around 450,000 more young adults are now in the family home compared to 2006, especially evident among men and those in their late 20s.
The study – titled Hotel of Mum and Dad? – found that the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds living with their parents increased from 13 per cent to 18 per cent between 2006 and 2024.
This figure hit a peak of 21 per cent during the Covid pandemic before falling back slightly after lockdown restrictions were eased, researchers said.
About 450,000 more 25 to 34-year-olds are now in the family home compared with 2006 (stock photo)
Bee Boileau, a research economist at IFS, said the ‘substantial increase’ in the proportion of young adults living with their parents has largely been ‘fuelled by increases in rents and house prices’.
‘For some, living with parents provides an opportunity to build up savings more quickly than if they were renting – which is an especially valuable advantage in high-cost places like London,’ she said.
‘However, others are likely to be living at a parental home due to a bad shock of some kind – such as the end of a relationship or a redundancy – or simply because they cannot afford to live independently.’
In the US, 48 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds are now living with their parents, according to estimates by the census bureau – similar to levels seen in the 1940s. It works out at around 25 million young people.
But Luke said that some of his family members make fun of him for still living at home.
Nevertheless, he doesn’t let it affect him, confident that he could return to any ‘high-level’ job should he wish to.
He was raised in an ‘agricultural, blue-collar family’ in Utah, but later moved to Las Vegas.
His parents divorced when he was young, and without the money to send him to college, he worked locally before moving to Houston to begin a career in sales.
There, he learned fast and began making ‘really good money’, but he always felt that something was missing.
Far from home and without anything to keep him grounded, Luke found himself fooling around in the ‘devil’s playground’, never finding ‘real fulfilment’.
‘I would catch myself going to bars in the middle of the day or all weekend and doing things I shouldn’t do for instant gratification, chasing materialistic things.
‘There was nothing I liked doing other than going out, but the only reason I was going out was to numb myself from reality – whether that’s alcohol or chasing women.’
City life was very far removed from the life he’d grown up with – fishing, riding horses and spending time with family – and he felt deprived of the things that had previously brought him joy.
He began eating poorly, gaining 40lbs, contributing to what he described as a ‘snowball effect of bad things’.
He said: ‘I lived a good life, people would kill to have the life I lived. I owned a home, I was travelling, but deep down, there was more to it than that. My childhood self would not have liked who I was.’
Finally, after reaching breaking point after four years of constant work, booze, and ‘instant gratification’, Luke phoned his mother and told her: ‘I’m moving home’, with no questions asked.
Overall, it was a huge relief to move back, although the idea was initially ‘scary’.
Now, he’s gone sober, giving up alcohol, something he also credits with getting back on track and into a better routine.
Back home with Patty, he is within equal distance of all his true loves – horses, the countryside, and his family, and has no plans to move out again.
He said he would consider a return to sales, but will never again return to the inner city – or even the suburbs.
‘Right now, I’m so lost in the sauce of being the best me,’ he said.
