Today’s debate on the Internet: whether or not premarital cohabitation is acceptable in 2017. This topic came to light when Nadine Lustre was asked if she and boyfriend James Reid are living together. Her response? “It’s 2017…If that was true, so what? There are younger couples who do that…It’s normal na…Come on, guys,” and “Let’s be open-minded.”

Anna Cosio, however, does not agree with Nadine’s way of thinking. In a post on PinayVoices, Anna jots down several studies showing how premarital cohabitation leads to higher divorce rates, infidelity, poorer communication, and domestic abuse. She also had this to say about the situation, “It’s 2017 and by now we already have decades’ worth of studies providing time and again that cohabitation is not a recipe for happiness. It’s already 2017, so by now we should know better.”

In defense of Nadine comes artist Feanne Mauricio who had this to say in response to Anna, “I do agree with Cosio’s statement that ‘cohabitation is not a recipe for happiness,’ and I would add that neither is marriage. I’m not sure that it is possible to find anything that guarantees happiness.” Aside from this, she also mentioned how the studies posted by Anna did not consider one important detail when it comes to living-in, the age of the couple. Age doesn’t always guarantee maturity but there is a sense of stability and decision-making that can help make cohabitation work without marriage. The way they decide to communicate and work on their relationship is key.

Feanne also added that what a couple decides to do in their relationship is no one’s business, “So what if financially independent consenting adults choose to live together? As long as they are not harming anyone, or being abusive to each other, then nobody has any right to intervene, or to even demand any answers from them regarding their personal lives.” And we couldn’t agree more! Having their lives put in the spotlight is stressful enough and having people force their morals down their throats is unnecessary. Yes, we are all entitled to our own opinion, if you don’t believe in living-in before marriage, that’s perfectly fine. But to call someone out on their decisions and saying, “That is why I hope that Ms. Lustre’s younger female fans would not take her word as gospel,” is crossing a very fine line.

Whether or not Nadine and James are living together and whether or not their relationship works out is no one’s business.

Photo courtesy of Nadine Lustre’s Instagram account

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