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Do you take this man to be your not-so-lawfully-wed roommate? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till unemployment do us part?
According to U.S. Census data, this “I do” is the new fad. The AP reports that over the past year, the number of opposite-sex couples in that living situation rose to 7.5 million.
Data reviewers say that the 13 percent increase is a product of the financial lean-on-me factor. As many young aspiring professionals struggle to remove the “aspiring” tag, more are relying on significant others to steer their bank account in a better direction.
“It would be odd to say this year was emotionally different, so it’s more likely practical considerations that are behind the increase in cohabitation,” Rose Kreider, a family demographer at the Census Bureau, told the AP.
And yes gents, it’s all your fault. The study also showed that the unemployed member of the unmarried pair was often male.