horseshoe2985
New Member
Marriage and living together are different
kinds of relationships.
Couples who live together instead of committing to marriage are in for some
disappointing surprises. Even when coming from similar backgrounds,
cohabitors tend to have
Less healthy, more volatile relationships.7
Break-up rates five times higher than
those married.8
2 to 5 times higher levels of serious
physical violence and emotional abuse.9
Decreased sense of ongoing happiness
and fairness in their relationships.10
2 to 8 times higher levels of
sexual infidelity.11
Much higher rates of risk-taking
behaviors such as drug use,
carousing and dangerous driving.12
Who benefits most from living together
women or men?
While marriage benefits both men and women, a new finding shows that
cohabitation tends to harm women more deeply than it harms men.
False hope: Women are consistently
more likely to believe their cohabiting
relationship is moving toward
marriage. The guys are more likely
to be just having fun.16
Unequal commitment: Women
are often the ones who are more
committed to the relationship.
Even when both guy and girl plan
on marrying, men who live with
their girlfriends before marriage
tend to be less committed to the
relationship before and after the
wedding than women are.17
More power for him: Even though
the man has less commitment to
the relationship and less interest in
marriage, he is the one with more
power to determine whether the
relationship ends in marriage or not.18
More work for her: Cohabiting
women are more likely to have to
work full-time outside the home
compared to married women. And
for some reason, women who live
with their boyfriends end up doing
quite a bit more of the chores and
housekeeping than married women!19
kinds of relationships.
Couples who live together instead of committing to marriage are in for some
disappointing surprises. Even when coming from similar backgrounds,
cohabitors tend to have
Less healthy, more volatile relationships.7
Break-up rates five times higher than
those married.8
2 to 5 times higher levels of serious
physical violence and emotional abuse.9
Decreased sense of ongoing happiness
and fairness in their relationships.10
2 to 8 times higher levels of
sexual infidelity.11
Much higher rates of risk-taking
behaviors such as drug use,
carousing and dangerous driving.12
Who benefits most from living together
women or men?
While marriage benefits both men and women, a new finding shows that
cohabitation tends to harm women more deeply than it harms men.
False hope: Women are consistently
more likely to believe their cohabiting
relationship is moving toward
marriage. The guys are more likely
to be just having fun.16
Unequal commitment: Women
are often the ones who are more
committed to the relationship.
Even when both guy and girl plan
on marrying, men who live with
their girlfriends before marriage
tend to be less committed to the
relationship before and after the
wedding than women are.17
More power for him: Even though
the man has less commitment to
the relationship and less interest in
marriage, he is the one with more
power to determine whether the
relationship ends in marriage or not.18
More work for her: Cohabiting
women are more likely to have to
work full-time outside the home
compared to married women. And
for some reason, women who live
with their boyfriends end up doing
quite a bit more of the chores and
housekeeping than married women!19
