It's a Valentine's Day issue that may affect you or your parents. A study finds more Americans over 50 are in relationships where they don't live with their partner.
Study author Dr. Jacquelyn Benson at the University of Missouri says this is nothing new.
"This type of relating or relationship has been around for a long time and it's been invisible to society for the most part."
Dr. Benson says those in such relationships says absence makes the heart grow fonder.
"The folks that I talk to about this argue that their relationships, while living apart, are more intimate than any relationship they've had before."
Dr. Benson says the major question is making it work with the families; particularly when there are health care issues, because they're not actually related.
"While one of the partners may need to be hospitalized, perhaps move into long term care -- even at end of life, that's where some issues with family members can arise, because they don't have legal rights to one another."
Living apart together is well known in Europe, but it's just now reaching prominence in the United States.