Saltpetre,
'and includes some statistics which tend to confirm his reservations.'

Do you really believe...

''Among couples who begin cohabiting, 50% will have married and 50% will have broken up in within five years. ''

That means there are no couples that live together that aren't either married or broken up in 5 years time.

You seriously believe that? 0%? I know heaps of people who have monogamous live-in relationships lasting more than 5 years before getting married.

So true, Houellebecq.

>> I know heaps of people who have monogamous live-in relationships lasting more than 5 years before getting married.<<

I'll put my hand up for that.

Point is, though, you weren't actually supposed to take the statistic seriously - I mean, 50/50? So obviously plucked from his imagination, it really doesn't need a comment.

I actually feel quite sad for the guy. Honestly I do. With his attitude, the chances of him actually developing a mutually satisfying relationship, with such a sketchy understanding of the other person are, frankly, remote.

Think about it. Even leaving aside the sex part for a moment, think of all those traits that would remain invisible.

The underwear hanging off the towel rail, the quiet nose-picking beside you at dawn, the coffee mugs left in the sink long enough to grow that interesting green coating, the look of horror as you step out of the shower onto the bath-mat instead of drying yourself first - the list is almost endless. Living together will sort out these issues, one way or the other. Being unaware but married to them would eventually create the sort of atmosphere that led to WWI - a lot of diplomatic pussyfooting around, alternating with a "my way or the highway" blast from whichever one turns out to be the Kaiser.

Then of course there's the sex. Imagine the scene when she discovers... when he finds out that... and the first time they try...

Oh the humanity! Too awful to contemplate.

Truly, I feel sorry for him.

Incidentally, I wonder how she feels about it?

I wouldn't be concerned Pericles. She's probably banging one of his mates. Or having an affair with the pastor's wife. The girl has needs.

Hmmm... for some reason Tim Minchin's song "Inflatable You"* keeps going through my mind.

*YouTubable and worth a look and listen...

What the hell ? This sounds like a political op ed piece for one of those creepy, weird American "chastity promises", that's then been turned into a Magic Round-A-Bout episode, it makes no sense at all !

Sounds like god decided for you.

I for one am glad I lived with a number of women before I finally married one.

Had I not, I would almost certainly have married and had children with a person, whom I came to realise I disliked intensely, and had little in common with, or would have eventually cheated on due to the previous two points. (Note three out of four were guilty of the latter, and were promptly kicked to the curb).
But I guess in your perfect world, Christians never cheat on each other, and everything is perfect. lol.

This is most probably your future, as is confirmed by your own dubious statistical 'facts', only that you will have to pay half of what you own to get rid of them.

It also gave the me the chance to realise what personal attributes I could accept in a mate, and those I could not.
Things the writer can not possibly have ascertained about his girlfriend of three months, or six months or even six years without living with her.

Comments like "Co-habitation is about sex, let's not be confused." proves you don't know your arse from your elbow, and that you're a virgin I'm afraid.

By all means go live by your moralistic load of BS, and buy the cow before you've tasted the milk.

Honestly, nobody cares what you do or think, and the sooner you realise that, the sooner you will grow up, and quit sermonising to people who know more about life than you do.

So immature, and smacks of someone scared to give life a real go without their imaginary friend by their side.