Are Live-in Relationships, The Stepping Stone to a Healthy Successful Marriage?

What is a live-in relationship?

Cohabitation or live-in relationship is a relationship in which two people live together but are not married. They are often involved in a long-term or lifelong romantic or sexually intimate relationship.

What is marriage?

The matrimonial act between two people who are romantically and sexually involved with each other and intend to be legally considered as a couple.

Living with someone before marriage is still considered taboo in Indian society, particularly in a man-woman relationship. It refers to the concept of virginity, which is perceived to be violated if and when a woman engages in a sexual relationship with a man prior to marriage. She is therefore seen as impure or unholy, which is a common perception, although it is not universal.

A segment of the youth, on the other hand, may disagree with what the conservative wing of society has to say. They believe that being in a live-in relationship provides them with a sense of liberation as well as the feeling of being in a conjugal relationship without the constraints imposed by the institution of marriage. In a live-in relationship, either party can leave or stay if things aren’t working out.

Being in a live-in relationship before choosing to marry a partner is a wise decision as it gives the couple enough time to get to know each other in more ways than they did before- the compatibility of living together all throughout day and night gives a clearer perspective of what the relationship would look like after marriage.

A couple living together gives them more time to work on their relationship and themselves as individuals. It makes or breaks them at an early stage before committing to a more serious level of relationship. Splitting the rent, bills, chores, responsibilities, and duties not only helps in the overall ease of daily life but also helps in the overall development of a person’s character.

Every individual has their own beliefs and preferences, and ultimately it is a person’s decision and their partner’s if they want to be in a live-in relationship or commit to each other in the form of marriage. However, live-in relationships do happen to be a stepping stone to healthy successful marriage life.