2008 Woodie Awards
LIVING TOGETHER
Cohabitating couples recognize advantages, complications
Mary Ruth Vincent
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Issues
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The phrase "living together" invites controversy and revolves around morality, philosophy and sociology.
The popularity of couples living together has grown substantially over the past 45 years. According to http://members.aol.com/cohabiting/, in 1960, there were 90 married couples for every one cohabitating couple. By the year 2010, if the same trend continues, there will be seven married couples for every one cohabitating couple.
Jeremy Thompson, a psychology major, is following the trend.
"I actually live with my boyfriend, and we have been dating over a year. We plan on getting married eventually," Thompson said. "I feel like if you can stand living with them for a while, it will be a sneak peek for your marriage to come."
More couples are making the decision to take a "trial run" by living together before committing to marriage. Lala Cheshire, a general studies major, said living with her boyfriend has been good for their relationship.
"I've lived with my boyfriend for over a year, and I think it's helped our relationship because I've gotten to see who he really is," Cheshire said. "I do think that before you make this decision, you should be sure that you're really committed and not just jump into it."
Fortunately for Cheshire, her living arrangement has been positive. But, according to http://members.aol.com/cohabiting/, cohabiting couples have an 80 percent chance of their relationship ending. Forty percent of them break up before they marry; the other 40 percent divorce within 10 years of marrying.
Debra Avara, an Amarillo College sociology professor, agrees.
"Couples living together before they are married have statistically higher divorce rates than couples entering marriage for the first time," Avara said.
Monty Downs, the fine arts technical director at AC, said he believes couples living together may not feel completely committed to the relationship. According to Downs, when he was younger he would not have seen anything wrong with cohabitation. Currently, he thinks it probably is wrong morally but does see advantages and disadvantages.
"An advantage is that the couple can see if their relationship will work out before they actually sign the papers and make the commitment of marriage," Downs said. "A disadvantage is they haven't made the commitment, so they may not work as hard on their relationship. We all know that marriage is hard work."