Marriage Savers - To: those threatened by divorce

Another interesting fact about Living together.
Marriage Savers - To: those threatened by divorce: "Cohabitation is a double cancer of marriage. The first cancer is that for millions, cohabitation is a substitute for marriage. A quarter of unmarried women aged 25-39 are currently living with a partner, and an additional quarter have done so in the past. Yet what many call a 'trial marriage' should be called a 'trial divorce.' The only question is whether they break up before the wedding or afterward. Of 100 couples who begin living together 40 break up before a wedding, according to the University of Wisconsin. One result: the number of never-married couples has doubled from 21 million in 1970 to 46.5 million in 1998, diverting 25 million from getting married at all. The second cancer is that cohabitation before marriage increases a couple's odds of divorce by 50%. So of the 100 cohabiting couples, 60 will marry, but 45 will divorce. That leaves only 15 couples still together after a decade!"