Is Cohabitation Good for Relationships?

You’re in a conversation and someone says, “It doesn’t really matter if you get married. All that matters is that you live together and love each other.”

What Would You Say?

More people are cohabiting than ever before. In fact, more than 75% of married couples today lived together before they were married. Today, the number of homes with cohabiting couples is 15 times bigger than it was in 1960, and nearly half of kids will spend at least part of their childhood in an unmarried cohabiting home.

As a society, we’ve pretty well accepted the idea that “love” is all that is really necessary for a truly healthy relationship, not “a piece of paper” or a wedding ceremony. Not to mention, we often hear, it is financially wise to share expenses and couples should know whether or not they are compatible before getting married.

Social scientists have been studying marriage, family, and cohabitation for decades now. What they’ve found tells a much different story:

1. Cohabitation Creates Less Healthy, Happy Relationships

2. Cohabitation Leads to Greater Poverty, Infidelity, and Domestic Abuse

3. Cohabitation Hurts Women More than Men