“…Whichever way we look at it, cohabitation defies easy explanation. Cohabitation tends to be painted as an especially modern way of living (Diduck 2008, xiii) and has certainly become much more widespread in the last several decades (Beaumont 2011;Smart 2011, 41;Bowman 2010, 93;Nazio 2008;Thornton, Axinn, and Xie 2007, 4-6;Duncan, Wilkerson, and England 2006, 383, 396), even to the point of being a majority or normal practice in some places (Pleck 2012, 1-2;Syltevik 2010). Despite cohabitation's reputation as a recent innovation, there have always been people who live together without celebrating a valid wedding (Thornton, Axinn, and Xie 2007, 309;Parker 1990).…”