The psychology behind the live-in relationship

Love, romance, and Sex always attract human beings. In the 21st century with the impact of K Drama and Social media, it become an even more fascinating stage and experience for human life. Since the beginning of human existence, human’s basic drive has been working on the pleasure principle. So when people talk about living in a Relationship, what is a common person’s understanding is to getting sex and the company of another person without taking any serious responsibilities and social obligations (marriage) in their life? But it’s not exactly what a live-in relationship is meant for, live-in relationship is about much more than this.

What is a living relationship?

Live in a relationship is about being with, a person they love without getting any social responsibility.

Why do some people opt to live in a relationship?

1. It’s about sharing life with each other and checking how compatible they are in day-to-day life.
2. Marriage is about taking complete responsibility for a person for a lifetime and an average human gets the feeling of romance even before they become completely financially independent. So some people decide to be with the partner they love while they are in the process of earning.
3. Some people go for it because they want to see how married life experience will be for them.
4. Some people go for it because they are fearful of commitment or issue that arises after marriage (family expectations and in-law interference) so to avoid it they go for in relationship.
5. Some people go for it because they believe it’s easier to go for a breakup than for a divorce. If things work with the person they love they will marry, they can break up at any point in time if things are not as expected.
6. For saving money and sharing the financial expenses today. In a relationship often meeting people outside can be costly when both the partners are not financially independent. So staying, and living together is a better option for them.

Also Read: What kind of negative impact can toxic relationships have on our lives?

Challenges in live-in relationships:

1. Trust issues
2. Social Stigma
3. Financial worries
4. No defined boundary

Live in a Relationship and Social Stigma:

In India marriage is considered as a religious process for continuing procreation of the generation. Living in a relationship is considered a social threat to society. As in live-in relationships people can withdraw at any point in time, they mostly do not plan for family (kids), especially in India.
In India, people still consider marriage as a much more serious responsibility than staying with a person together. When people get to know anyone known or unknown, is staying in in relationship mostly they talk about family reputation, a person’s character, and how unethical or moral act it is.
Hence most people who stay in in relationship hide this from their family to avoid criticism.

Three-year itch in a relationship:

Its term is used to describe the challenge a couple might experience in the 3rd year of their relationship. According to a theory about the stages of love, relationship, ends or conflict issues start to arise in the third year of the relationship. A relationship that crosses 3 years has a better future of relationship.

Also Read: 10 Ways to Live a Happy Relationship and deal with problems in your relationship

Benefits of Live-in relationship:

1. Lesser chances of divorce if the person know each other before getting married.
2. Deeper bond with the partner which helps them to sell through the ups and downs of married life.
3. If they feel they are not feeling compatible with the person they can break up and avoid staying in a troubled relationship. In India time, marriage is saved only because the divorce process is hard for the entire family.
4. Live in a relationship can develop a healthier bond in partners which leads to a better level of happiness.

Also Read: Why Do People Use Fake Smiles in Their Lives?

Disadvantages of life in a relationship:

1. At any point in time person can withdraw which leads to security for the partners.
2. When people explore the relationship without any social obligations, the sweet feelings (Romance) of the relationship go away.
3. Sometimes when family and relatives get to know about this person and family has to face hard times.
4. Sometimes it becomes hard for the person to forget the sad story of the past and move ahead in life. And this situation becomes worse when one partner has moved ahead in life.

Living in a relationship can be a good start to getting to know each other. But in India, people need to be more broad-minded to digest this relationship in families.