Sociologists must always be aware of how social institutions and behaviour change over time. The monogamous heterosexual couple still dominates as the core family unit in contemporary Western societies. But since the 1970s, in Britain and elsewhere, our sociological understanding of households and relationships has been extended to include unmarried cohabiting couples, same-sex couples and couples in stable relationships but who do not live together (living apart together or LAT).
Despite the recent rise in solo living, and LATs, most people still want to live together as a couple at some point in their lives. But such relationships are not always successful or long-lasting. When a relationship breaks up, couples are sometimes forced by circumstances to continue living together in one household despite no longer being partners. In these circumstances, they are living together apart in a type of household which has largely been ignored by sociologists – until now.
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