MarriageTweets

Cohabitation has increased so rapidly that the data about it haven’t kept pace with the growing numbers, researchers say. The latest U.S. Census for 2008 reported 13.6 million unmarried, heterosexual couples living together. Researchers say 50% to 60% of couples who marry today lived together first; some note that 70% of young adults will cohabit. Most couples who live together either marry or break up within two years. ”People who are engaged think of (living together) as the next step before they get married, but in many couples, it’s part of the dating relationship — pretty serious, but still well shy of the marriage part,” says researcher Scott Stanley, co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver. Most couples didn’t consciously decide to live together; two-thirds of cohabitors said they either “slid into it” or “talked about it, but then it just sort of happened.” Just one-third talked about it and made a decision to live together. // Related: Stanley’s PPT slides at #smc09