Although there is no concrete legal definition yet, living together is generally understood as living with a boy or girl before marriage. Living together relationships are seen more in Europe and Western societies. It is customary for unmarried women or men to live together to overcome their loneliness, financial problems, or to easily pursue their physical desires and aspirations. Some people even after marriage being fixed, live together because they want to live with their boyfriend or girlfriend for some time to understand the behavior of their boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage and to further their love relationship and know each other better. In Europe and Western societies, living together relationships are easily accepted by families and society. Such relationships are openly discussed there, and to this day, the laws there have also easily accepted it.

In Nepal too, the trend of living together is increasing day by day. Not only in Nepal, but also Nepalese who have gone abroad for various reasons are found living together. However, living together relationships, which are seen as common in foreign countries, are becoming challenging in Nepalese society. The increasing living together relationships in Nepal are limited to only between lovers and girlfriends. With a few exceptions, most young people keep their living together relationships hidden from their friends, relatives, family, and society. They do not want anyone to know about their relationship. The couple living together may not get married tomorrow, and due to fear of what society will say, such relationships are often kept hidden.

Since many women have been victims of living together incidents, advocate Mohanlal Acharya says that laws should be made to address the challenges arising from it.

As the number of people living together in Nepal has increased in the past few years, it has also increased challenges in relationships and society. A relationship with someone in life is not always easy and successful. The relationship of those who live together, swearing to die together and live together, can also deteriorate, and it is not that all relationships always deteriorate. There are also those who live together and successfully move forward with their relationship and their lives. But when the foundation of a relationship is built on the perimeter of self-interest and need, sooner or later, that relationship will definitely start to crack. With one or two exceptions, the living together relationships that have been happening and seen in Nepal seem to have grown based on self-interest and momentary need, more than love and emotion. Whether that self-interest is material or that need is physical.

CPN-UML MP Binda Pandey says that the mindset of top leaders regarding living together should change and that legal arrangements should be made to register those people even when living together.

Recent studies have shown that when such hidden relationships become difficult to understand and communicate with each other, living together relationships become problematic. At such times, those living together cannot openly tell others about their problems nor can they seek advice and help from anyone. Some victims of such relationships are unable to openly seek legal redress. In some cases, it has been heard that lovers or girlfriends who have separated from living together show old pictures and videos to bargain for money. Living together causes even greater problems when the woman becomes pregnant. There are also cases of men leaving after pregnancy. Some seek legal redress, while others have reached the point of suicide due to fear and shame from family and society. In recent times, it has been found that married men are also in living together. Nepal’s constitution has outlawed polygamy, but experts say that since married men are in living together relationship, it has affected Nepal’s constitution and domestic laws. It has been found that women are mostly victims of living together.

Nepali Congress Whip Pushpa Bhusal says that since living together has affected marital and domestic laws, a law should be made to specify the conditions under which people can and cannot live together.

Overall, when studying the increasing trend of living together in Nepal, it seems that temporary attraction, weak economic conditions/financial temptations, and physical changes and sexual desires that occur during youth are attracting the younger generation, especially the younger generation, towards living together. Therefore, it seems that living together and the challenges it may cause should be addressed legally.