Why do people live apart together?

Interpretations of living apart together (LAT) have typically counter-posed ‘new’ versus ‘continuist’ perspectives. Recent surveys, however, construct LAT as a heterogeneous category which support a ‘qualified continuist’ position – most people live apart as a response to practical circumstances or as a modern version of ‘boy/girlfriend’, although a minority represents something new in preferring to live apart as a more permanent family form. This paper interrogates this conclusion by examining in detail why people live apart together, using information from a nationally representative survey from Britain and from interview accounts. Our analysis shows well one important feature of living apart together – its flexible pragmatism. LAT as a category contains different sorts of relationship, with different needs and desires. While overall coupledom remains pivotal and cohabitation remains the goal for most, LAT allows more freedom for manoeuvre in conducting relationships. LAT is both ‘new’ and a ‘continuation’.