Marriage Vs Live-In

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 12:27

Couples into a live-in relationship are more likely to split up that those who are tied into the holy matrimony. The data from the Office for National Statistics has also proves this fact.

Nearly, four-fifths of spouses who were married in 1991 are still living together, compared to three-fifths of cohabiting couples, who had a split up after barely five years.

Older couples and those with children were more likely to stay in the same relationship.

They found that out of those who were cohabiting in 1991, 61 per cent were with the same partner for 10 years, while 39 per cent were not. Of those who stayed together, most had by then married their partner. The majority whose relationship had ended were living alone.

In contrast to this, 82 per cent of those who were married in 1991 were still living with their spouse till 2001. Of the 18 percent who had divorced or been widowed, most were single although a small proportion had remarried.

Therefore, it is evident that marriages are more stable than cohabitation.

Experts suggest that couples were more likely to split up if they were younger, had no children, had previously split up with their ex-partners, were poorly educated or were unemployed.

Living together can never be equivalent to marriage as far as family stability is concerned. To respect relationships, and have a secure family base, it is important to protect and support the institution of marriage.