Kathryn Knights, 37
Ten years ago, my sister, Claire, and I were living with our parents. I wanted to move out, and it seemed sensible to buy a house together. When we were children, we didn’t get on; as adults, we don’t fall out, because we’ve lived together all our lives and share a similar outlook.
The mortgage and bills are split down the middle, so there’s no conflict about finances, but the downside is there are no secrets, and sometimes it feels as if I can’t spread my wings. But I always feel happy to come home. I feel lucky. We have an ongoing conversation called “the thing that annoys me about you the most”. We try to keep it light-hearted – stuff like, “I hate the way you stack the dishwasher.”
I don’t know what will happen if one of us meets someone. If we ever split up, we’ll need to figure out who’d keep the cat.
Claire Knights, 40
I wasn’t desperate to move out of my parents’ home, but it was the next logical step. It was Kathryn who drove it forward. I feel fortunate to have a sibling I get on with. We fall into a natural rhythm of living together; we feel close and comfortable with each other. We have dinner together pretty much every night. When she’s away, I miss the conversations at the end of the day.
When the romance and passion of a marriage die away, it becomes more about sharing finances and chores, and companionship. Well, I’ve got all that – without the fraught expectations of a romantic relationship.
If we did ever decide to move out, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out who got the cat. It would be me.
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