Last spring, I was watching Jeopardy, like any self-respecting trivia nerd would, when champion Brendan Liaw asked host Ken Jennings to introduce him as—wait for it—a “stay-at-home son.” This wasn’t some joke category. The 27-year-old, who holds a master’s degree and won nearly $60,000 in three episodes, was dead serious. And the internet absolutely lost it. The consensus? “This guy is literally living my dream.”
Look, 2025 has been a little weird, especially when it comes to “living the dream.” For starters, we’ve spent the whole year watching tradwives trend by making sourdough and romanticizing doing laundry in linen aprons. (No judgment—I tried the sourdough thing too.) But then Liaw showed us that there’s actually a male version of this whole movement, and it has nothing to do with cottagecore aesthetics or churning butter.
“Some people might see this as the ‘easy’ way out, but honestly, I think it was harder than a traditional nine-to-five,” says Rick Johnson, who spent 15 years as a stay-at-home son. “I was always on call. I worked around the clock.”
Like any good internet trend, this one has a new nickname: hub-son. And it’s redefining family roles and challenging everything you thought you knew about the guy living in his mom’s basement. Turns out, he’s not just gaming down there anymore. Read on to find out everything you need to know about this new trend.
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What is a hub-son?
Hub-son is a portmanteau of husband and son. Essentially, it’s an adult son who lives at home with his parents and handles all the household stuff instead of working a traditional job. Think of him as the male equivalent of a tradwife, except instead of managing a spouse’s household, he’s running his parents’ home. Cooking, cleaning, yard work, errands, driving mom to her book club—the whole domestic shebang.
Liaw is one version of it. Johnson is a totally different one—an older, rural, cowboy version. Back in 2010, when the recession was hitting everyone like a freight train, Johnson found himself divorced, unemployed and in his mid-40s. With nowhere else to turn, he did what a lot of us have considered during our lowest moments: He moved back in with his dad. But what started as a “just until I get back on my feet” situation turned into a full-blown lifestyle.
After some unsuccessful attempts at jobs (traveling salesman didn’t pan out, and hardware store clerk wasn’t his calling), Johnson and his dad struck a deal. “Dad took care of all the finances,” he says. “I took care of everything else.” He became the family chef, the gardener, the house cleaner, the chauffeur and eventually, the best friend. They went camping. They watched sports. They built a life.
Is that the same thing as a stay-at-home son?
Before we go further, know that Johnson hates the term hub-son. “That doesn’t even make any sense!” he says. (Agreed, Rick.) The term hub-son seems to have crawled out of the social media primordial soup—probably TikTok, maybe Instagram, definitely somewhere that thrives on word mashups and irony. The slang word picked up steam in late 2024 and early 2025, when outlets like the New York Post started covering it as a trend.
Like Liaw, Johnson prefers the term stay-at-home son, which, let’s be honest, is way more straightforward and doesn’t sound like some weird Portlandia sketch.
But even that isn’t without some controversy. Interestingly, stay-at-home son was added to the Urban Dictionary way back in 2007, but it was meant as a burn. It was basically calling someone a lazy freeloader who plays video games in his mom’s basement.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the generation that brought us quiet quitting and lazy-girl jobs decided to reclaim it. A Wall Street Journal article even called it “an ironic badge of honor.” Suddenly, admitting you lived at home wasn’t shameful—it was hilarious. It was relatable. It was, dare I say, kind of revolutionary?
“I figured even if I lost my first game, at least I could make people laugh,” Liaw told the Wall Street Journal about his infamous stay-at-home-son introduction. Mission accomplished, buddy.
Are stay-at-home sons a new thing?
Nope! What’s new is the branding. “It’s less a brand-new phenomenon and more a cultural rebrand of something that has existed in many societies for generations,” says Jill Vance, PsyD, a psychologist and founder of Mentella Health. Adult sons have been living with and caring for aging parents since the dawn of time. Your grandpa probably did it. His grandpa definitely did it. The only difference is they didn’t have a catchy TikTok-ready name for it.
In fact, the whole “move out at 18, get a job, buy a house, never look back” thing we think of as traditional American life? That was actually the weird part. For most of human history—and in most cultures today—it has been totally normal for adult kids to live with their parents. The hyperindependence Americans are so proud of is actually a relatively recent (and wildly expensive) social experiment.
It’s also cultural. Vance points out that the rate of U.S. sons living at home is “nowhere near other parts of the world.” In many European and Asian countries, multigenerational living is normal. Nobody’s writing think pieces about it. It’s just how families work.
Either way, the rate of young adults living at home has been climbing since the 2008 recession hit, it got another bump during COVID-19, and it shows no signs of slowing down. This isn’t a temporary blip; it’s looking more like a long-term adaptation to economic reality.
Why is this trend gaining popularity now?
There are two primary drivers of the trend, one prompting men to move back home and the other giving people a reason to talk about it. But make no mistake: More and more young adults are choosing this option.
According to Pew Research data from 2023, about 20% of men ages 25 to 35 are living with their parents. That’s one in five guys. Your brother’s friend from college? Probably still at home. That guy from your fantasy football league? Yep, home. The dude who keeps beating you at trivia night? Definitely home (we’ve already established this with Liaw).
Life is less affordable
Life is expensive, and nobody told us adulting would be this hard. But seriously, Vance puts it more elegantly: Today’s young adults are “coming of age in an economy where independence is harder to afford and family interdependence is returning out of necessity.”
Basically, your parents could buy a house on a minimum-wage salary. You can’t afford avocado toast without checking your bank account first. The unemployment stats are rough. Sure, the overall rate is 4.2%, which sounds fine until you zoom in on young men. Among 20- to 24-year-olds, 8.2% are jobless, with men specifically at 9.6% unemployment. And that doesn’t even count the underemployed—like the guy with a master’s degree working at Trader Joe’s and unable to afford rent (at least the employee discounts are good).
Men are doing traditional “women’s work”
Another reason it may be trending now is because, well, it’s about men doing housework. No one batted an eyelash when women embraced their “traditional” role of caring for their home and family, but when men decided to embrace the domestic god phase, people were shocked.
Previous generations of men living at home were treated like punch lines. But 2025’s stay-at-home sons are flipping the script. They’re not hiding their living situation—they’re announcing it on national television, putting it on their dating profiles and probably embroidering it on throw pillows. (Embroidery is another “girly” thing that men should totally embrace. It’s fun.)
“This trend reflects broader cultural shifts in gender roles, economic opportunity and family structure,” Vance says. Traditional masculinity was all about being the provider, the breadwinner, the guy who moves out and conquers the world. But when wages are stagnant, houses cost approximately $1 million and entry-level jobs require five years of experience (make it make sense!), that provider identity gets disrupted. “The ‘hub-son’ role becomes a symptom of a society in transition—one that hasn’t yet redefined adulthood in emotionally sustainable terms for men.”
Johnson experienced this cultural shift firsthand over his 15 years as a stay-at-home son. “At first, there was some pressure from others about my ‘nontraditional’ role, but over time, I ended up getting a lot of praise for taking such good care of [my dad],” he recalls. What started as something he had to explain (and probably apologize for) became something people actually admired.
What makes the hub-son life so appealing to guys?
Beyond the obvious appeal of free rent (I mean, have you seen apartment prices lately?), there are some deeper draws here. “Many are drawn to it less out of avoidance and more out of stability,” Vance says. “With rising living costs, job uncertainty and burnout, returning home can offer structure, belonging and purpose. For some, it’s an act of reciprocity—helping aging parents who once supported them.”
A deeper connection to parents
For Johnson, the appeal wasn’t immediate. Remember, this started as his rock bottom, not a lifestyle choice. But over time, something unexpected happened. “He kind of became like my son,” Johnson says of his father. “And then he became my best friend. You learn to love who you serve. We had a great time together.”
The relationship gave Johnson’s life meaning during what could have been a dark period. “It wasn’t how I envisioned my life going, but it worked out for the best. It was mutually beneficial,” he reflects. They learned to can fruit and vegetables together. (Neither was “much of a cook” before this, which makes the canning achievement even more impressive. Do you know how hard canning is? There’s so much boiling! And it’s so sticky!)
An escape from the grind
Not only does it give men more lifestyle options, but living at home also rejects hustle-and-grind culture. When Liaw won nearly $60,000 on Jeopardy—working out to “$59,000 in 2-1/2 hours of work,” as he calculated—he still didn’t rush to move out. The setup was working. “I wouldn’t be comfortable just lounging around all day. I feel like at least I should be productive while I’m home,” he said.
It’s not about being lazy. It’s about redefining what productivity looks like.
An affordable place to live
But it’s primarily the economic factors covered above that make it so appealing, because those numbers are absolutely brutal right now. Housing costs are through the roof, while wages have flatlined and unemployment is high. The American Dream now feels about as attainable as getting Taylor Swift concert tickets at face value.
Vance is quick to point out this isn’t about some moral failing: “What’s changed is the economic and cultural context for families in America,” she says. “Today’s young adults are coming of age in an economy where independence is harder to afford.”
Is hub-son just a temporary role?
Ah, the million-dollar question. (Or in this economy, the would-be-a-million-dollars-if-we-could-afford-it question.) And the answer is … it depends who you ask.
For many young men, absolutely yes—this is just a pit stop on the journey to independence. Liaw, for instance, has big plans. He’s eyeing law school or maybe capitalizing on his Jeopardy fame for something even better. The stay-at-home-son phase is just his current chapter, not the whole book.
“For most, it’s transitional. It’s part of adapting to difficult economic times or caregiving needs,” Vance explains. “But for others, it may become a chosen lifestyle, especially as multigenerational living regains cultural legitimacy.”
Johnson’s situation lasted way longer than anyone expected—15 years, until his father died in May 2025. What started as a just-until-I-get-back-on-my-feet crash landing became an entire life. “Sometimes I felt trapped by our arrangement, but I made that decision, and I was sticking with it. I couldn’t abandon him,” he says. “It turned out to be the biggest blessing—not just financially but emotionally, spiritually.”
So is this like the tradwife trend, where it’s a permanent lifestyle choice? “I’d caution against moralizing either path,” Vance says. “Whether temporary or long-term, what matters is the presence of agency—that the son feels his life has forward motion and purpose, rather than being defined by stagnation or obligation.”
How do parents feel about the trend?
A lot of parents like this arrangement! “Parents often gain emotional companionship and practical help, especially in households where one partner is missing or where both work or are aging,” Vance says.
Johnson’s father clearly thrived with the setup. After retiring, his investments kept the money flowing, and he got something way more valuable than a clean house: a best friend. Johnson’s mom died in 1999, and Johnson became not only a caregiver but also a genuine companion for his dad’s final years. “I don’t see this lifestyle as a trend. I see it as the continuation of a long tradition of family helping each other out in the way they need,” Johnson says. “If I hadn’t been a stay-at-home son, my dad would have probably ended up in a nursing home. He likely would have died a lot earlier.”
Which is honestly beautiful. And probably a lot cheaper than a nursing home, which can cost upward of $100,000 a year. (See? We’re back to economics again. Everything’s about money.)
Liaw’s parents—immigrants from Brunei who built a middle-class life—seem cool with their son’s current status. “I’m not a trust-fund kid,” Liaw clarified when people assumed he was living off family wealth. “We’re solidly middle class, maybe even lower-middle.” They’re just a family making it work.
What’s the public reaction to hub-sons?
Oh, boy. The response has been … “mixed,” if I’m being diplomatic, and “a total dumpster fire of hot takes,” if I’m being honest.
On one side, critics argue that stay-at-home sons represent a failure of masculinity. They’re the downfall of society! The end of real men! The old “mama’s boy” stereotype is still alive and well in these circles, and for some people, hub-sons are just proof that young men are coddled, directionless and basically the worst.
But the other camp sees it totally differently. To them, it’s a practical solution to tough economic times and maybe even a path to building skills that a lot of men historically never learned. I mean, how many dads can’t cook or do their own laundry? (Sorry, dads. But you know it’s true.)
Vance has a more measured take. “What concerns me isn’t the return home but the shame and confusion around it,” she says. “America prizes independence so fiercely that interdependence feels like regression, when in truth, it’s a normal and sometimes necessary part of life cycles.”
Johnson definitely gained valuable life skills from his arrangement. And they weren’t just random hobbies—they are legitimate adult skills that plenty of traditionally “successful” men never acquire.
Is the hub-son arrangement healthy?
Again, it depends. “The arrangement can be healthy when it’s temporary, collaborative and rooted in mutual respect,” Vance says. “It becomes unhealthy when it replaces personal growth or when guilt and dependence overshadow autonomy.”
So if you’re living at home, learning new skills, contributing meaningfully and working toward your goals? Probably fine! If you’re just hibernating in your childhood room, avoiding life while your parents enable your stagnation? Not so fine!
Johnson’s experience shows both sides of the coin. “There were times when it got frustrating, not having my own house or money. I couldn’t travel spontaneously. And I worried about him a lot,” he admits. The loss of independence and spontaneity was real. The lack of financial freedom chafed. But the benefits—”deep companionship, purpose and the satisfaction of caring for someone I loved”—ultimately outweighed the costs for him.
“The healthiest families treat these periods not as failures but as collaborative pauses, opportunities for both generations to reset, heal and reimagine what adulthood looks like in an era of economic and emotional uncertainty,” Vance says.
A collaborative pause. I like that. It’s way better than “failure to launch,” don’t you think?
What does the hub-son trend say about our culture?
Here’s what I think the hub-son trend really shows: American culture is having an identity crisis about what adulthood even means anymore. The old playbook—graduate, get a job, move out, buy a house, never look back—was written during an economic era that might as well be ancient history. That model was built on a foundation that no longer exists for huge swaths of people. Housing was affordable. Entry-level jobs paid a living wage. Student loans didn’t require selling your firstborn child.
So instead of judging young men who are adapting to the new reality, maybe we should be asking bigger questions. Like, why is housing so expensive? Why haven’t wages kept pace with inflation? And why do we treat interdependence like it’s some kind of moral failing when it’s how humans have operated for most of history?
Johnson’s story proves there’s more than one way to build a meaningful adult life. His 15 years as a stay-at-home son weren’t some shameful detour from his “real” life—they were his real life, filled with purpose, growth and love. “We had so much fun together,” he reflects simply. “I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.” Sometimes the life you end up with is better than the one you planned.
As for Liaw? When the Wall Street Journal interviewer thanked him for making time to chat, he responded with perfect stay-at-home-son energy: “I’m still a stay-at-home son. I have all the time in the world.”
That doesn’t sound like failure. It sounds like someone who’s figured out that success doesn’t have to look the way we’ve always been told it should.
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For over 100 years, Reader’s Digest has explored the nuances of relationships, working with such luminaries as Dr. Ruth Westheimer, John Gottman, PhD, and Leo Buscaglia (“Dr. Love”). We ran a decade-long relationships column and have published a compendium of features, Love and Marriage: The Reader’s Digest Guide to Intimate Relationships. We support this information with credentialed experts and primary sources such as government and professional organizations, peer-reviewed journals and our writers’ personal experiences where it enhances the topic. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Rick Johnson, stay-at-home son; phone interview, Oct. 28, 2025
- Jill Vance, PsyD, psychologist and founder of Mentella Health; phone interview, Oct. 29, 2025
- Wall Street Journal: “The New Dream Job for Young Men: Stay-at-Home Son”
- Pew Research Center: “The shares of young adults living with parents vary widely across the U.S.”
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