Happy New Year. I'm Julie Slattery and thank you for joining me for Java with Julie.

I'm at Mission Coffee Roasters today and I'm excited to share a conversation with you that we originally aired several years ago.

But it's a question I still get asked on a regular basis and this is the question, why isn't it okay to live together before we get married?

We just want to make sure it's going to work.

Maybe you personally wrestled with this decision or maybe you know someone who has.

Honestly, cohabitation is not all that uncommon, even among Christians.

So it's likely that you, a friend, a family member, someone you know in your church,

have had to think through whether

or not it's a good idea, or whether or not it's even right or wrong. To learn more, I sat down

with my friend, author, and researcher Glenn Stanton, who's written a book on this topic called

The Ring Makes All the Difference. I think you'll be surprised at some of the things he found

as he dug deep into the research on men and women who live together before getting married.

So grab your latte and pull up a chair.

I'm so glad you've joined me for this Java with Julie.

I just Wikipedia is what the definition of cohabitation is.

It's an arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an emotionally

and or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis.

And the question is, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I'm sure it's a good thing if it works for that individual relationship.

I think it's a really good idea.

Because otherwise, like, you can be really good friends

with someone and if you ever have to live with them, you might like start hating them because of

...