My cousin and his exgirlfriend are stuck living together for another year in their 1 bedroom apartment. They can't sell it until next year and neither one can afford the payment for the apartment on their own.

Nothing to add about the actual topic, but that mirror is fantastic.

My sister in law has been living with her ex-husband for over two years now while they try to sell the house. It looks like they may finally have a buyer, but it was a long time for both of them. They have remained fairly friendly, but I know it caused tension.

it's probably much healthier if this is a last resort. there are lots of really really good reasons to move out if possible.

It made me feel better to document the awful situation:
http://www.lizzycross.com/index/Work/Pages/The_Gabe_Decision_%282009%29.html#0

That is a great picture to run with that headline.

My friend's boyfriends brother is stuck in a situation like that. The girl has a new boyfriend already too. Talk about awkward.

IN LOVE with the mirror though!

My best friend and her husband recently separated and are in the process of divorcing. They can't sell the house without penalty until next April because of the first time homebuyers tax credit so their current plan is for them both to stay in the house as amicably as possible until he has enough to move out or the divorce comes through, whichever comes first. She's not sure if she can keep the house either, but has to stay until April 2012.

My friend Hannah (names are changed to protect their privacy) and her girlfriend Amy were together over ten years when they finally realized their relationship had deteriorated to really just being friends who lived together instead of an actual relationship. They own a home together and Hannah is in school so they decided to stick it out until she graduates and finds a stable job before selling the home. In the meantime, Hannah has fallen in love with new girlfriend Lisa.....The owners of the home Lisa was renting were pocketing her rent and the home went into foreclosure....so...Lisa has now moved into the home with Hannah and Amy...The grand total of occupents is now three ladies, three dogs, and a cat. Hannah really needs to graduate. Soon.

Horrible mirror - Bad Feng Shui.

I bought my condo from a couple who was in this situation! They divorced in October but were still living together, with their son, in March. You would think they would have been desperate to sell, but it was very hard to work with them. One person wanted to get it sold and get out and one wanted to hold out for more money. From what their realtor told my realtor, the divorce was not entirely amicable and that was the reason why the condo was in poor condition when we purchased it (neither party wanted to clean up for the other one). I worry about what the long term effect of their son seeing that kind of behavior might be though.

Living this right now. My house has been on the market 4 months with some buyer interest. Boundary rules are a good thing. I don't think I would suggest this to anybody but it appears to be a sign of the time. I'm sure there will be a study on it's effect here in about 20 years. It's funny that we do communicate a bit more now, out of necessity to ensure the dogs are cared for properly each evening. It's been a harder transition for my ex and definitely not a healthy situation to get through.

I've roomed with two exes, but many years after we broke up (3+). It was no different than normal roommates, although one would occasionally try to get laid (which was okay by me).

no no no....

My ex and I split up with 2 months to go on our lease. He needed to be in the flat to get to work and my studio was IN the flat. He then left his job to study in the flat. Cue two of us working in the same (small) space. It was not a great time and by moving day we weren't speaking to each other which made cleaning the place tricky. Thanks to my lovely parents and a freelance job it only lasted a few weeks!

I went through this myself a while back. I was with my ex for over 7 years, and after the breakup we lived together for an additional 3-4 months. It was fairly amicable though sometimes tense. The main problem was privacy, and thankfully it was a temporary arrangement just to see us through our respective moving processes. My fitness definitely improved since I started going on long walks daily. It's kind of strange to sleep next to that familiar person who you have no intention of being with again. I wouldn't recommend this scenario, but since there wasn't a lot of blame flying around in my situation it turned out to be fine.

@threechordme I'm working out a lot more too! How interesting. Thank goodness we are in a 3 bedroom house so we have some separate space.

"War of The Roses" seemed to have it worked out...until they both died. So, no. Probably not a good idea for long term accommodations.

My boyfriend roomed with his ex for a few months after they broke up. Originally they were going to try to stick the entire lease out (they had almost an entire year left!), but were able to make arrangements with the landlord to get out of it early. She ended up staying in the bedroom, and he on a futon in the den. We started dating before the lease was up, and this prompted her to move in with a friend. The living situation was super stressful for both of them, especially considering she had cheated on him (which prompted the break up) and then he started dating me, one of her former friends.

Thank you, bepsf, for pointing that out. Even though it is a fantastic photo for the headline, I wonder if the broken mirror project would come before or after the break-up... eeks.

My husband's friend in Cuba lived with his ex for 6 years. Housing is very difficult to find there and this is not uncommon. We had dinner with them at their house and they were amazingly civilized and charming about it. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Ugh sounds horrid

I think in this situation the best solution would be for one person to get a roommate if the space allowed (hard to do if it is a one-room apt), and the other to rent another space with that income.

A phenomenon examined in the extremely funny web series bunny hug http://www.bunnyhugshow.com highly recommend it!

I have a friend who still lives with his ex...now about 3 years after the divorce. He now has a girlfriend too.

This is not healthy at all and I think folks must be holding on for some unhealthy reason. Otherwise one of the partners would get a roommate and move on or move in with family, friends- what have you. The only way I can see this making sense is if kids are involved.

The mirror is FANTASTIC!

My ex and I have a beautiful new home and happy life together.

We were married, we had an amicable divorce so he could do things he couldn't do married, we lived apart for several years (he in our old house, since he earns a lot more and could afford it, me in rentals). Then I lost my job and he suggested I move back in, only in the guest room, as "domestic partners".

It has worked out very well. We have no kids (just pets) so that was never a factor. We sold the old house and built the new one, custom to our design. We share household expenses (although he pays more and I DO more, since I earn about a quarter of his pay.) We pay our own way to movies and restaurants, things like that.

Everything depends on the relationship between the couple, why they break up, whether they stay friends, whether there are other people (girfriends/boyfriends, especially, or kids) involved...

But for us it's working just fine. So don't automatically knock it just because your experience is limited to hostile breakups!

I don't know any one in that scenario, to the best of my knowledge. I don't have an ex, so can't imagine living with one. I'd have to find some other living arrangement.

I love the mirror. But you couldn't pay me to look directly into it, never!

I lived w/ my first serious bf and would have married him if his decision to go to grad school didn't give me the clarity of separation. Some go crazy living together, but for me (the opposite of a commitment-phob) it clouded my judgement. My now husband hit me like a ton of bricks (meaning, I wasn't expecting someone that right for me to exist). Even then, I decided to wait till marriage -to move in, that is. I'm very happy now. My point is: be very careful moving in w/ a bf/gf. If you do not have full commitment (and I'm talking FOR LIFE), it is a bad idea. That's just my experience, though.

I'm still thinking about this post, and still can't imagine myself thriving in that scenario. That's probably because only one of the countless break-ups I've witnessed was amicable. I agree it's possible for other people, though.

@H.B., Why, is seeing yourself in a broken mirror unlucky? I ask because I collect such ideas, and that would be a new one to me.

I had been living with my ex for 3 1/2 years (together for almost five) when we broke up. We continued to live together for almost six more months out of necessity. Sure it probably wasn't the most healthy situation to be in, but it didn't stem from any unhealthy reasons (like Trumystique implied). We were both very much "over" each other and desperately wanted to go our seperate ways. We lived in a pricey area though and it really did take us that long to find other arrangements (whether it be a new roommate or new locations) that we could both afford. Sometimes there really aren't other options. You can't just go down to roommates-r-us and find one who is a good fit.

Luckily we had a two bedroom apartment, so we each had our own space that we could retreat to. We managed without any real drama. We both just made sure to clean up after ourselves and respect the other's property and privacy. Neither of us dated or even had friends over during that time, so that wasn't an issue. The other thing that really helped was that we both had fairly busy schedules. There were weeks where we hardly saw each other.

It certainly wasn't ideal, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

I love my wife and appreciate being reminded how fortunate I am have her. And, that mirror is fantastic!

Oh, I read the thread again and understand now why looking in a broken mirror is considered unlucky--it's bad feng shui.

If you want help, look into this show that is looking for people in your exact situation
http://www.lctv.com/show/do_you_and_your_spouse_want_to_divorce.php

My ex-boyfriend and I lived together for two months after we broke up--luckily we had two bedrooms and opposite work schedules. For the most part, things were amicable but I could never imagine dating someone else while in such a situation...its tough enough between the two people as it is. We've since moved on from that less-than-ideal situation, but I've definitely learned it doesn't always need to be hostile. Even when the breakup is not mutual.

Given the economic situation I think it is ok to find ways to adjust. By the way, I love that mirror. It looks great!

Hey! Thanks for featuring my mirror in your article. However, the link you are using isn't working. Please replace the links with this one:

http://www.potholesandpantyhose.com/2010/03/i-happen-to-love-flowers-and-mirror-art-2/

Thanks so much! Rebekah @ www.potholesandpantyhose.com