Times have changed. Today, Smith, now divorced, lives with Lydia Breckon in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston with their three dogs and a cat. For 11 years, they've shared their lives, their cooking and cleaning, and their vacations.
People sometimes assume they are married.
But they have never taken a trip down the aisle together. They describe themselves as pragmatists, not radicals. I don't have a banner or a flag. Living together without marriage, once unheard of, has become commonplace in America today. Parents often advise children to delay marriage and live with a partner to test the relationship, and growing numbers are forgoing marriage altogether.