One in 20 long-term couples live in different homes to one another.
According to figures compiled by Halifax Home Insurance, this equates to two million people living apart from their significant other.
That is a 40% increase on a decade ago – a rise which Halifax claimed is simply a matter of choice, as partners become more comfortable living separate lives.
It claimed that younger people are now more loath to rush into living together, while for people over 35 the most common barrier to sharing a home is the inability to fit their joint possessions into one home.
According to Halifax Home Insurance, couples living apart do not just double, but triple the risk of being burgled, as they leave their own home unoccupied more of the time in order to spend evenings at their partners’ properties.
