'Really good flatmate': couples who separate but can't afford to move out

The separate sleeping arrangement began seven years before the marriage ended. When Mary-Ann’s hot flushes turned the bed into a furnace, her husband Bill moved into another bedroom; intimacy dwindled, arguments widened and by late 2025 their blended family was still living under one roof even though the relationship was over.

Mary-Ann offered to move out while the house was prepared for sale if he covered the mortgage; he refused, insisting she pay half. Unable to meet that cost, she stayed for five more months. Mary-Ann and Bill are part of a growing number of couples in "separation under the same roof" (SUSR).

The share of divorcing couples who reported remaining under the same roof rose from 15% in 2020–2021 to 19% in 2024–2025, based on federal circuit and family court divorce application data.

separation, same roof, divorce applications, susr, mortgage, blended family, intimacy, house sale, federal court, 2024-2025