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Living in sin at 60: Ian Johnson and Judy O’Brien
University lecturer Ian Johnson, 56, who has been living with his partner Judy O'Brien, also 56, since 1978, says his liberal Jewish family background encouraged a relaxed attitude towards marriage
“I was brought up without prejudices, and the women I met were not interested in what other people thought of them,” he says. “Living together involves the same commitment as marriage – there may be worries initially but after a few years it's no different.”
Although the majority of his friends are married, Ian points out that these are mostly remarriages and may arise, he says, from financial insecurity: “People who are not married are economically disadvantaged. If the law did not discriminate against people who live together, possibly fewer and fewer people of our age would bother marrying.”
This article was created: 13 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 11 December 2006.
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