I have known a few couples that lived together for a while and then married. It worked out fine for them. Most never lasted a year by living together. So, who knows? I think it is all about the people. If there is no real commitment to begin with, "playing house" won't create one.

Depends very much on the couple. I don't think getting married would change the way the couples you're seeing act. Perhaps one or the other needs to realize the situation isn't working and discuss it or move on.

I am one of those people that has lived together. It has been 23 yrs and it is no different then being married. We got to know each other just like any person out there would. We just decided we didn't need a piece of paper to be married. We're commited to each ohter.

Yes it depends on the couple. I know some who live together and are fine, I know some who lived together and were fine ,then got married and were soon divorced. I know some who lived together, then married and are still happy and I even know a couple who have been committed to each other for about ten years now and they don't even live in the same house. Everyone has to find what is right for them.

Yes, of course it does. What other couples are doing to each other or not, has absolutely no bearing on any other couple and how they behave. Living together does help you get to know your partner and what they are really like as a person and whether you are suited. You will gain as much insight living with them unmarried as you would if you were married - it makes no difference at all. It is the act of physically sharing a home with another person that allows you to get to know them better. If you share a house together then you spend more time in each others company, you're with each other more. There's only one way to get to know a person and it's by spending lots and lots of time with them - and you can do this by moving together either married or unmarried. Being married to somebody will not help you know them better and see truths that would have been invisible if you co-habitied, Equally, it won't have any bearing on the person you are with or give a greater chance of a successful outcome. You have to put the time into the relationship and spend time together for you to know whether they are a good choice or not. Whatever you do, do not judge your present or future relationships by the standards set by other couples. Your relatationships are unique to you and you can conduct them any way you see fit, just because some couples control each other it does not follow that you will do the same as them (because you are not them and have nothing to do with them). Make your own standards, set your own rules and boundaries and so on, just make sure you use your OWN first hand experience to do it. Don't look at others and become negative about all this - even if you are surrounded by couples that seem to be at war with each other. I lived with husband before marriage 8 years ago. In fact, I moved in 3 months after we met - we are compatible and we became best friends very quickly indeed. When we married a few years later, our relationship did not change a single bit. It felt no different at all, it was the same because we had already built the strong bonds of friendship, the trust in each other was built by the time we married each other. We had been together for the amount of time it takes two people to form a deep bond with each other, the foundation of our marriage had already been laid and by this time, I knew that this was the guy I would stay with and if I was to have a kid in the future, it would be with him - and vice versa for Husband. Us being married or not had no bearing on any of this thus being married FELT no different to not being married. We were the same afterwards as we were before and aside from growing up and maturing, our relationship is just as much of a laugh as it was in the first place. This should provide the proof that it does depend on the couple 100%.

What if you're never married? My mom's sister and her husband were together for about 30 years before they married a few years ago. And my parents didn't marry until I was 6 and my sister 10. Marriage is not a must in a relationship

I think it depends on the couple.I dated my husband 4 years before we married.We didn't live together before we wed.I didn't see the need to test it with living together as I knew what his values were(and still are).We've been married for 11 years and doing great.Moving in together is an adjustment,but one should know what their partner values in life instead of wasting time with an experiment.Whether or not they leave the toilet seat up shouldn't be a determining factor in compatibility.Lol!

The more time you spend with each other the more you two know each other. Living together is definitely help to get to know someone because you see the person everyday - so if he wants to hide who he is it will be almost impossible because he can't be aware all the time and has his vulnerable moments like getting up from bed, etc. About controlling each other it can happen but that's the living together is all about - you can see that the person trying to control you and this can help in your decision to marry.

It worked well for us and brought us even closer together. However, statistically, people living together before marriage have a greater rate of divorce.

In my personal experience, living together shows you what the other person is like and helps you make a decision on where to go from there. I did it with the one I married, saw what the individual was all about beforehand but still got married, thinking that peoople can change...ha ha! After the divorce, I had 2-live in relationships that showed that I didn't want to go there so, yes, live-in relationships do show you the way if you're paying attention

Yes it depends on the couple. I don't really think it's necessary to live together to see how they are and how they act. Just take your time before getting married and you will see how they are without actually living with them.

yes its better to live with person before your married because when you live together you might not get along and drive each other demented so no point in getting married then

Like in all relationship situations, it depends on the people involved.

No. Some married people don't really know each other. Many mass murder's spouses never had a clue to their hidden activities. You never really know someone until they choose to show you their true selves and even then some people will choose denial over seeing truth, or misunderstand what they've seen. (Happens all the time in books, movies and tv.)

Yes, I like the idea