Are you or have you ever been in a relationship where you haven't ever lived together and remained relatively independent?

[Welshandsco]

Because I think I'm more suited to these type of relationships and feel happier when I have my own space also. I've only had a couple of relationships but never lived with them and felt claustrophobic when we spent too much time together. Maybe I'm not suited to relationships, but I'd be interested to hear from others like this and did you have to explain to a partner that this is what you wanted?

You’re free to live your life as you wish just as long as you’re up front about so the other party knows where they stand in the long term.

We are married and don’t live together - it works for us. Might not be the way we do things forever, but right now it’s the right thing and I think it’s made our relationship stronger in some ways!

4 years and counting. Works well for us.

I've been with my dp for 4 years and we had no plans to live together until very recently and if I'm honest, a lot of that reasoning is because financially, it just makes sense. I own my home (bough ex husband out) and work full time but my mortgage has just gone up, as have bills and well, everything. I am looking at not paying my mortgage off until I'm 70, while he rents his home alone round the corner.

It's been just me and the now teenage kids for 5 years so going to take some getting used to but they are really keen (wouldn't have done it otherwise) and we are going to get a garden office for him to work in and all of his hobby stuff so we will still get our own space.

I don't think couples HAVE to live together though and a good friend of mine and her dp have been together about 8 years, no kids and no plans to live together.