Marriage is proving to be a delicate union as more couples head for divorce.
It may be an amicable situation for many but what the public generally sees is a lot of mud-slinging leaving both parties bitter and confused.
Children involved carry the scars of their parent's and they can be psychologically and physically affected for many years to come.
This kind of attitude has no place when a couple is separated and living together.
Any animosity would need to be left at the door of their family home so life could be reasonably peaceful.
I am always reminded of an old film called "War of the roses" which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner where a warring couple living in the same house did not get that they needed to be civil to each and both died at the hand of the other.
Some couples consider they have no choice but to stay together and live as roommates.
Separated but living together is becoming very common and it is no wonder when you think how hard some families are struggling to keep their heads above water.
Some are even divorced and living together choosing to get their decree but still carry on living under the same roof.
The reasons why people chose this way to live are significant and varied.
There are couples who have been living together for some time while trying to sell their house.
The real estate market took a big hit in the recession and has not completely recovered.
Values dropped, as did buyers willing to pay a fair price.
Foreclosures were abundant leaving families with no home and banks trying to salvage some of the money they had loaned.
Separated couples saw an opportunity to ride out the storm and hope for better days to come.
NECESSITY became a new way of thinking for many as they tried to hold onto their prime asset.
Divorcing couples had credit card debt and hire-purchase agreements to contend with as well as rising prices and job losses.
In order for these husband's and wives to have some kind of a positive future they knew they had to find a way to reduce their continually rising debts.
They could have them split down the middle if their loan providers were willing but if there was only one income coming into the household this would prove difficult.
Children became and are still a huge issue, as poor families knew it would be impossible to support them.
The care of their off spring would have been at the forefront of many separated couples decision to stay living together wanting to ensure the children did not suffer in any way.
Generally when a couple splits the kids live with one parent while the other has visitation rights.
This would mean two residences to pay for which is not feasible if you are struggling to make ends meet.
There are parents who could not bear to bring up their children while living apart and have chosen to stay together until their kids are older.
This is a supreme sacrifice and not always agreed by some psychologists.
If two consenting adults have made this decision and are comfortable with it then it is their choice to make.
When you see how many children have behavioral problems as a result of their parents going through a hostile divorce you have to admire these people who care that much.
In order for a separated or divorced couple to live together with their children a bigger than me attitude would definitely have to be adapted.
Fighting around the children could not happen and this would have to be agreed on or the living arrangement would not work.
One would hope that mom and dad would make a huge effort to put their differences aside in order for the arrangement to run smoothly.
Some divorced couples have reconciled as they discovered there was a lot more to the person they had married than they thought they knew.
This is because the ground rules for being separated but living together would have pushed them both out of their original comfort zones.
They would have had to communicate well and show respect for each other's personal space and preferences.
Too often these are the issues that can lead to the break up of a marriage so finding a new level of respect, compassion and tolerance for each other just might be the key to a new beginning.
There is no doubt there will be many who will still argue their way through the time together but they will have learned very little.
When the last world war happened upon this earth many people were pushed together regardless of likes or dislikes color or creed.
People learned to pull together for the good of all.
This is now happening in cities, suburbs and small towns across America and the rest of the world.
People are separated but living together to fight for a better future for them and their children.