Americans shacking up with exes during ongoing housing crisis

Published

2 months ago

February 22, 2024

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Americans are choosing to remain in a living situation with their exes amidst the ongoing housing crisis, a move that experts say may prove emotionally taxing despite the potential financial benefits.

“High housing costs are causing more couples to cohabitate despite the fact the romantic flames of their marriage have been extinguished,” real estate broker Chuck Vander Stelt told Fox News Digital.

“I have had conversations with several divorcing couples who have been weighing options and looking to time the market. In the meantime, they are continuing to live together.”

Stelt believes the trend of cohabitation after divorce or breakups is growing as he has experienced an influx of those in their 30s and 40s, often with children, weighing the options of selling versus cohabitating. In the past, Stelt said homeowners who separated were adamant that the property should be sold as soon as possible.

“Many homeowners are sitting on a mortgage with a rock bottom interest rate and a comfortable house payment. It’s hard to let that go and face the alternative of meaningfully higher housing costs,” he added.

The inclination to remain shacked up with former lovers has been reported in the media over the last several years, especially amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relationship advice websites and message boards, such as Reddit, are filled with pagers where renters and homeowners have asked whether they should remain in their current living situation.

Americans have even documented their experiences living with exes on TikTok, offering advice to those facing a similar conundrum.

TikToker @-diaryofamomma posted a variety of videos in late 2023 where she showed what life is like when you live with an ex and you share two children. The son and daughter typically stay with the mother in one room while the dad sleeps on the couch.

The mom, “Cassie,” said they still live together because the landlord would not allow them to break the lease without paying for the rest of the term in full. They both share responsibility for the kids and clean the house.

“Honestly, me and their dad like think of a bad roommate. Somebody you don’t like but you have to live with because you have a lease together. Like, that’s what we are,” Cassie said. “I try not to bother him. He doesn’t bother me.”

Dating coach Deon Black said the reasons people choose to live with their exes often boil down to the three F’s: finances, familiarity, and fear.

“The cost of moving out can be prohibitive, especially considering current real estate prices. And let’s not forget the contractual obligations that sometimes bind people together like super glue rental contracts signed in happier times that now seem as unbreakable as a bad habit,” he said.

Black said while not an earth-shattering trend, exes living together is indeed a growing phenomenon created out of necessity, more so than choice.

“Millennials are leading this charge, followed closely by Gen Z. Younger generations are most affected by this trend due to economic pressures,” he said.

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Amid rising interest rates and housing shortages, Black said Americans are trying to save money and maintain stability, especially if kids are involved. But the possible downside is substantial, with the dating coach citing the potential for emotional stress, conflict and the difficulty of moving on.

After living with her ex, TikToker Alana Hogan offered tips to those embroiled in the same living situation.

“Everyone is going to heal in different ways and everyone has different coping strategies. Your way is going to be entirely different to his or her way,” she said.

She urged her followers not to view their former partner’s actions as a reflection of themselves and to set healthy boundaries of where each person will be in the apartment or house.

“Be really clear and open with your communication. Let them know what you feel comfortable with, what you don’t feel comfortable with. What you feel open about talking about and what you don’t,” she added.

Viral relationship coach Jake Maddock previously addressed the idea of living with an ex, stressing that deciding to stay under the same roof means you are still technically in a relationship.

“You can’t emotionally separate and not physically separate. You have to separate physically as well,” he said.

Sexologist Suzannah Weiss concurred with the idea that it is usually easier for people to have a “clean break” and keep exes out of their lives following a breakup.

Weiss noted that some people might agree to live with their exes temporarily because they are busy with work, allowing this period to drag on without a determined expiration date. Others live in rent-controlled apartments and cannot find something affordable when they cut things off, leading to decisions “born out of convenience.”

“However, sometimes, people keep living with their exes because they are afraid to fully let go. They may tell themselves it’s for convenience or for financial reasons, but the truth is that they are terrified to be completely without this person,” she told Fox News Digital.

UK

Sadiq Khan secures convincing win over Tory rival in London mayoral race

Published

45 mins ago

May 4, 2024

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Sadiq Khan secures convincing win over Tory rival in London mayoral race

Labour’s Sadiq Khan has secured a historic third term as London mayor, seeing off Tory challenger Susan Hall.

It followed “wild rumours” the incumbent could have suffered a shock defeat, although both sides subsequently said they believed Mr Khan would win.

He received 1,088,225 votes (43.8%) to be re-elected, a majority of nearly 276,000 over Ms Hall, who secured 812,397 votes (32.7%).

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The results as they come in

It was the first time any candidate for London mayor has won a third term in office, with Mr Khan’s predecessors Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone both having served two terms.

As he took to the stage to make his victory speech, the re-elected mayor was booed and heckled with a shout of “Khan killed London” by the far-right Britain First candidate, who received fewer votes than Count Binface.

Speaking at City Hall, Mr Khan said: “We faced a campaign of non-stop negativity, but I couldn’t be more proud that we answered the fearmongering with facts, hate with hope, and attempts to divide with efforts to unite.

“We ran a campaign that was in keeping with the spirit and values of this great city, a city that regards our diversity not as a weakness, but as an almighty strength – and one that rejects right hard-wing populism and looks forward, not back.”

He also thanked his family for their support, but apologised for them having to deal with “protests by our home” and “threats”.

While congratulating Mr Khan on his victory, Ms Hall said he should stop “patronising” people who care about London.

When she had previously challenged him in a mayoral debate about “gangs running around with machetes” in the capital, he had said she should “stop watching The Wire” – a gritty US-based crime drama.

In her concession speech, she said: “The thing that matters the most, and to me, is reforming the Met and making London safe again. I hope Sadiq makes this his top priority.

“He owes it to the families of those thousands of people who have lost lives to knife crime under his mayoralty.

“And I hope too that he stops patronising people, like me, who care. This isn’t an episode of The Wire, this is real life on his watch.”

The pair had repeatedly clashed during the campaign, fought out amid concerns about knife crime and the handling of pro-Palestinian marches in the capital.

Just recently, Mr Khan had described his Conservative rival as the “most dangerous candidate I have fought against” over her past social media activity.

Hitting back, Ms Hall said she had “learnt” from her mistakes and branded his comment “outrageous”.

A clear dividing line between the candidates had been Mr Khan’s controversial expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), which has been the subject of ongoing protests and which Ms Hall had pledged to scrap.

During the race, the Conservatives were forced to delete a clip used in an advert against Mr Khan’s record on crime after it emerged it used footage of a stampede at a New York subway station.

The result comes after Rishi Sunak’s Tory party took a hammering at the local elections, shedding hundreds of seats and losing more than 10 councils.

Meanwhile, Labour has made gains across the country, winning the Blackpool South by-election with a 26% swing from the Tories and taking control of councils in key battleground areas.

The party also picked up new mayoralties, including the critical regions of East Midlands and York and North Yorkshire, which includes Mr Sunak’s Richmond constituency.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “This is effectively the last stop on the journey to the general election and I am really pleased to be able to show we are making progress, we have earned the trust and confidence of voters and we are making progress towards that general election.”

Mr Sunak has taken consolation in the Conservative victory in the Tees Valley mayoral race, which was retained by Lord Houchen and seems to be enough to calm rumblings among discontented Tory MPs.

However, the crunch contest for West Midlands mayor remains on a knife-edge.

Labour has also not had it all its own way, losing control of councils in Oldham and Kirklees after victories for independent candidates opposing the party’s stance on Gaza.

Labour also lost seats on other councils including Bristol, where the Greens extended its lead as the largest party and could now be set to run the city council despite narrowly failing to win outright control.

Notably, all 14 councillors in the newly created Bristol Central constituency are now Green, where the party is looking to unseat Labour’s shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire at the general election.

Sky News elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher also says although the results are bad news for the Tories, they do not put Labour on course for an overall majority in the Commons in a general election.

The Tories have so far lost 473 seats and control of 12 councils, while Labour has won eight councils and gained 185 seats.

The Liberal Democrats gained 104 seats and won control of Dorset council from the Conservatives, while the Greens are up 74 seats.

Sports

Kentucky Derby to remain on NBC through 2032

Published

1 hour ago

May 4, 2024

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Kentucky Derby to remain on NBC through 2032

Associated Press

May 4, 2024, 12:17 PM ET

STAMFORD, Conn. — The Kentucky Derby will remain on NBC through 2032 after the network and Churchill Downs Inc. extended their contract, announcing it hours before the running of the 150th race Saturday.

The race switched to NBC in 2001 after airing on ABC from 1975 to 2000 and CBS from 1952 to 1974. The multiyear extension will make NBC the longest-running home of the race for 3-year-old horses.

The deal includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and Derby and Oaks day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms.

Politics

Conservative Andy Street’s bid to be re-elected West Midlands mayor ‘too close to call’

Published

2 hours ago

May 4, 2024

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Conservative Andy Street's bid to be re-elected West Midlands mayor 'too close to call'

The battle for West Midlands mayor is down to the wire after a partial recount of votes was ordered.

Incumbent Tory Andy Street’s hope of securing a third term in office remains on a knife-edge in the face of a stiff challenge by Labour’s Richard Parker.

The outcome of the contest is critical to Rishi Sunak after a hammering in the local elections, which saw the Conservative Party lose more than half of its councillors who stood for re-election across England.

Local elections live

It threatens to ramp back up the pressure on the prime minister, who was hoping for a repeat of the success enjoyed by Conservative Ben Houchen who held on as the mayor of Tees Valley and to dampen rumblings of rebellion among some Tory MPs.

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson in the Electoral Dysfunction podcast said the rebels who want to move against Mr Sunak and change leader “would have a huge amount of fuel” if the party lost “one or other or both of Teeside and West Midlands”.

Mr Street had sought to distance himself from the Conservative brand during his campaign and instead ran on a personal platform.

Sky News recently revealed Mr Street was sending out election literature with an endorsement from former prime minister Boris Johnson which urged people to “forget about the government”.

His campaign website also made no mention of Mr Sunak on its homepage and was coloured in green rather than Conservative blue.

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