However, the Dunedin resident cooked his wife dinner on their 75th wedding anniversary yesterday.
"What we do is just pull together," Ron (98) said of his secret to a successful marriage.
He learned to cook three years ago, when Irene’s failing eyesight caused him to take on household tasks for the first time.
For most of their marriage, Irene (nee Hanson) had taken care of the home while he was the main breadwinner, he said.
"I wouldn't call myself a cook by any means, but I haven’t poisoned her yet.
"Stir fries, chilli con carne, fish pies — I can do them."
A family celebration was held on Saturday in honour of the couple’s diamond anniversary, so dinner on the day itself was set to be a simple meal.
"It’s just another day, but we’re glad we did it. We never thought we would," Ron said.
"You take each day as it comes, you know, make the best of it."
Irene (97) rated her husband’s cooking skills "not bad".
"It’s getting there. I’ve tried to tell him all I know," she said.
Both from Yorkshire, the couple first met at a dance in the aftermath of World War 2.
Irene was part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army.
Ron joined the army in 1942, and served in North Africa, Italy and India.
"We seemed to click straight away. We had [common] interests, you see. She had her army experience, I had mine," Ron said.
"She was bombed in York. I got caught in an ammunition dump with a truck set on fire. I was damn lucky to get out of that."
The couple, who were married in Huddersfield in 1947, still live in the home they moved into in 1958, newly arrived in New Zealand with daughter Phyllis and son David.
Living in the same home meant Irene knew where things were and could move about despite her eyesight problems.
"I knew straight away I liked it here, and Irene liked it here, and the children," Ron said.
"We’ve enjoyed living in this house."
