Philippa Middleton arrives at Westminster Abbey with the bridesmaids and page boys ahead of the wedding service between Prince William and Catherine Middleton, 29 April 2011

Prince William and Kate moved in together about a year ago. In this clip above the commentator suggested that maybe Prince Charles and Princess Diana would not have divorced if they had lived together before marriage. Actually Diana was a virgin, and it was Charles’ uncle (Louis Mountbatten) that gave him the advice that he should seek to marry a virgin. 

I really do wish Kate and William success in their marriage. I hope they truly are committed to each other, and if they are then the result will be a marriage that lasts their whole lifetime. Nevertheless, I do not think it is best to live together before marriage like they did, and I writing this series to help couples see how best to prepare for marriage.

 If unmarried, we are to remain sexually pure. That means more than abstaining from vaginal intercourse. It involves abstaining from fondling genitals, oral sex, and physical pleasuring that leads to orgasm. The biblical word is porneia, which is often translated “fornication,” but involves a wide range of sexual practices. It bears repeating that the question to ask is not “How far can I go?” but “What standard of purity honors God?” Such a standard is not what we will view on TV or at the movies or read in magazines or on blogs. Yet it is clearly what God desires and has determined as best for our well-being. (Sexual Intimacy in Marriage” by William Cutrer, MD and Sandra Glahn)

 Why does this issue of cohabitation always get so much attention? There are at least three reasons.  First, it’s something that is connected to values for people, so debates about cohabitation are not just about cohabitation, they are also about religious beliefs and other values.  Those are important issues, but my observations here are focused only on the science.  Second, younger people tend to believe that cohabitation lowers their risks in marriage, so reports that it’s not associated with benefits, or even associated with risk, have gotten a lot of attention.  People are interested in this.  Third, cohabitation is important societally because it’s increasingly the context for childbearing and rearing, and cohabiting relationships are much more fragile than marriages. That makes it an important subject in our national discourse. (Scott Stanley – Research Professor, University of Denver)