I'm in an industry where I deal with people in divorce situations, estate situations, when their spouse is out of town, etc. Can it work? Sure, but I can tell you I've seen a lot people that get completely lost without their spouse there. That is not a good situation. I see it in the reverse a lot when a wife is sick or whatever and the husband can't even feed himself or keep the house clean. To me, that's not ideal at all.
On a personal level, I don't know why you'd prefer things being that way. My wife and I split up some responsibilities, and the last thing that I'd want is my wife to put everything on me. She's an educated, capable adult. Granted - there are a few exceptions (she's never mowed the lawn for example), but in general, both of us at one time or another have handled everything the other spouse typically does.
Another quick example that I have is that my neighbors are like that. They are very religious and traditional. The wife cooks and cleans, but the husband does almost everything else. Well now, the husband who is an engineer has to travel a few weeks out of the year. She's lost. I end up taking out their trash, mowing their lawn, etc. If a breaker flips, she's fucked. Lol.