Living with your ex after a messy breakup may not sound like an ideal set up but according to a new study, separated-couple households have become a significant yet overlooked statistic in the UK.

The study, conducted by Dr Jenny van Hooff at Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor Simon Duncan at the University of Bradford and Dr Julia Carter at the University of the West of England, discovered that, despite public sentiment towards former couples living together being generally negative, some people find it a practical arrangement, especially when it comes to childcare and the cost of living.

Dr van Hooff said of the study that “there’s an assumption that couples break up and move on and that’s it. Actually, it’s usually a lot messier than that.”

She added that “we need to start recognising the reality of households in the 21st century, particularly in the context of the housing crisis. People aren’t always either single or married. We are living in all kinds of different situations, and I think it’s a good thing that we’re more diverse, but we really need to catch up in terms of the census and how we record data.

“When a type of household isn’t officially recognised, it really delegitimises it as a way of living, and for many people, it [either] really works for them or they don’t have a choice about it.”

The researchers took data from the property website Zoopla and Mumsnet forums to find that the issue of separated couples living together was a widely discussed and controversial topic. “I think part of the problem is that it’s seen as strange and problematic. But how can we make it better? How can we make it easier? How can we support people who are in that situation, not just piling on and telling them they shouldn’t do it? They’ve got responsibilities and they’ve got financial constraints. So how do we support people in that situation?” shared Dr van Hooff.

According to the study’s findings, causes for the increase in cohabiting ex-partners may include decades of austerity measures, the cost of living crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic – the latter being a period when many people broke up with their partners while we were under lockdown.

But there’s also the housing crisis. Most of us can’t simply go out and find a flat or house without thinking about the cost and availability, especially if you live in a big city. “Although this situation may have been common before and has always been out there, it’s going to become increasingly common as we go forward,” adds Dr van Hooff.

A new study shows there are more separated couples now living together than ever before