How Spending Time Living Alone is Changing Romantic Relationships
For many women, it heightens their desire for equality
For a long time, more of my life was spent living with a romantic partner than living solo — first for four years with the man who became my first husband when I was in my early 20s and then for 17 years with the man who became my second husband when I was in my early 30s.
I have now spent the majority of my life not living with a romantic partner, mostly since my second divorce nearly 20 years ago.
When I dropped out of college at 19 to follow my boyfriend to Colorado, where he was attending college, I hadn’t lived by myself for very long.
Would it have made a difference in my romantic life if I had spent a few years living by myself before moving in with my boyfriend? According to a recent study, yes.
It might have led to more equitable partnerships, according to sociologist Lynn Jamieson, who conducted a study of 140 men and women aged 25 to 44.
“Living alone slows down the process of becoming a co-resident couple when both parties live alone, but it may also result in a more considered exploration of fairness and equality in couple relationships. More honest dialogue ‘between the couple and living alone’ is in…
