The Myths about Cohabitation and Late Marriage
February 10, 2022
The conventional wisdom today is that couples should live together before getting married so that they can see if they are compatible and make sure that a marriage would “work.” As a result, over 70% of married couples lived together first, up from 5% in 1960s.
Another bit of conventional wisdom is that getting married in your 20’s is a bad idea. At that age, it is said, you are not mature enough. If you wait until your 30s, you will have a better chance of avoiding divorce and having a marriage that “works.” As a result of this belief, the median age of first marriage for women is 29 and for men 30, with college-educated couples being even older.
