I think that this whole cohabitation debate is rather interesting. And, since around 5.5 of America’s households are composed of unmarried couples, I would say that further exploration is warranted. I mean, could 11 million people really be getting things so wrong?

I think we have all heard statistics that couples who live together prior to marriage have a greater chance of ending up in divorce court. I have also recently read that four in five couples who cohabitate before marriage never even make it to the altar in the first place.

That said, I am currently “living in sin� with my boyfriend of close to two years. We moved in together mostly because it was either that or living 3,000 miles apart for a year. And, I must say, I have learned so much about him since we started living together…things that I don’t think I would’ve ever learned if we had not. And, instead of making me more hesitant about marriage, it’s made me more positive about it. It’s made me learn that we are able to have fights and then get over them. It’s made me realize that he’s not going to leave me if I make one mistake. It’s basically just made our commitment to each other more solid.

When it all comes down to it, it depends on the couple, their needs, their desires, and their behaviors. For us, at this moment in our life, it is working. Now, I don’t know if we’ll be part of the 4/5 couples that don’t end up married, but I would definitely say that the experience will have been worth it either way.

Besides, I didn’t do very well in Stats class…

Christy Patrick wrote this on March 30th, 2005 and filed it under Dating |