The downside of living together

Well, it finally happened: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are tying the knot, after living under the same roof for years and having six kids together. But if their marriage lasts ’til death, many say they’ll actually be beating the odds.

There’s been lots of buzz lately about how living together before marriage is actually a death sentence for a relationship. An op-ed in the Sunday New York Times said living with someone can increase your chances of making a mistake, while an essay in yesterday’s Globe featured someone saying, “My boyfriend is not a car, and I don’t feel the need for a test drive.” Then there’s the numbers – with several studies showing that moving in before marriage can lead to higher rates of divorce.

But is shacking up before getting hitched really a bad idea? To shed some light on this, Toronto sexologist and relationship expert Jessica O’Reilly joins us in our Queen’s Park studio. And here in our CHCH studio is clinical psychologist, marital and sex therapist Dr Guy Grenier, author of “The Ten Conversations You Must Have Before You Get Married”.