We know that people are marrying later in life, but that’s not the only shift. The whole relationship timeline is stretching. From the first time couples meet, the timelines below show the median number of years after until relationships turned romantic, couples lived together, and eventually married.

Relationship Timelines After Meeting Comparing the median path to marriage per decade. Meet Romantic Live together Marry 1960s Living together and getting married often happened at the same time. 1970s 1980s Waiting longer to get married… 1990s 2000s One more month before turning romantic. Maybe more ways to meet now? Now it’s common to live together for years before getting married. 2010s 0 years 1 2 3 4 5 6 Meet Romantic Live together Marry 1960s Living together and getting married often happened at the same time. 1970s Waiting longer to get married… 1980s 1990s 2000s One more month before turning romantic. More options? Now it’s common to live together for years before getting married. 2010s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 years

This is based on estimates from the most recent release of the How Couples Meet and Stay Together survey, administered by the Michael J. Rosenfeld, Reuben J. Thomas, and Sonia Hausen.

Notes