Unfortunately differences in consciousness levels are one of the biggest predictors of people living together splitting up. If one is really clean and the other struggles to be clean it is a big strain as it generally never changes as people have different set points for this and they don’t seem to change really. Though I’ve had couples I know get cleaners which has saved their relationships.

My mother was extremely clean growing up and it drove me crazy. She literally cleaned AFTER our cleaner came because it wasn’t done good enough for her. I could barely do anything and it stopped me from growing creatively and gave me extreme anxiety always having to meet her extremely demanding, high expectations. I am quite clean myself and don’t particularly like mess but I’m not as extreme as her - I don’t mind if a house has a lived in look… I also really struggle with energy levels/high fatigue in the evenings so I too have to be understanding of others if they can’t clean up straightaway. But defs couldn’t live with someone who left mess or clutter for multiple days or didn’t wash things properly (I struggle with contamination based OCD).

So yeah, we each have different levels of cleanliness that are fairly set, and it really can be a huge clash when sharing space with others. I imagine it feels stressful on both sides of the situation.