Vic Pelton, 73, is content to share house keys but not "I do's" with his 64-year-old girlfriend of two years. And the Census Bureau says they have plenty of company. "There aren't many trends where grandparents are imitating their grandchildren, but cohabitation is one of them," said one expert. The reasons vary. For Pelton it's a combination of bad experiences in previous marriages and the desire to keep finances separate. The 2000 census survey was the first to let people specify their status as an unmarried partner. One 80-year-old summed up his live-in relationship with a fellow octogenarian: "A commitment to each other and love cannot be put down on paper."
Love Not Marriage
Vic Pelton, 73, is content to share house keys but not "I do's" with his 64-year-old girlfriend of two years. And the Census Bureau says they have plenty of company. "There aren't many trends where grandparents are imitating their grandchildren, but cohabitation is one of them," said one expert. The reasons vary. For Pelton it's a combination of bad experiences in previous marriages and the desire to keep finances separate. The 2000 census survey was the first to let people specify their status as an unmarried partner. One 80-year-old summed up his live-in relationship with a fellow octogenarian: "A commitment to each other and love cannot be put down on paper."
