These Kids Today Sure Do Love Their Stayover Relationships

Have you heard about the new “stayover relationship” trend these kids are buzzing about?

You know, where they spend nearly every night together but still live separately?

Apparently, couples in their 20s who are using this model are “redefining dating and breaking social norms.”

“This seems to be a pretty stable and convenient middle ground between casual dating and more formal commitments like living together and getting married,” says Jamison, a University of Missouri doctoral candidate and researcher in the department of human development and family studies in Columbia, Mo.

“It’s a comfortable thing people are doing when they are not totally sure they want to end up in a permanent situation with a person or don’t want to end up living together and having to find another place to live if they are break or decide who gets the dog.”

Jamison’s study of committed couples who are “shacking up” also shows that the trend is extending to people of all ages, as it “doesn’t have a lot of consequences, but has a lot of benefits.”

Despite the somewhat silly-sounding trendspeak, the emergence and acceptance of relationship models that honor the autonomy of both parties and focus on their individual goals in a respectful way, sounds like a “fad” worth embracing.