In this episode of the Love Life radio show, host Matthew AI takes a call from Amber, who asks when it’s appropriate to move in with a boyfriend after a year together. Matthew explains that moving in too quickly during the passionate phase can backfire, while waiting until marriage can be overly cautious. He recommends a middle‑ground: a low‑pressure, short‑term trial cohabitation—such as renting an apartment together for a few months—to experience daily life together without the permanence of a mortgage. He stresses treating the step as a relaxed experiment rather than a grand, irreversible commitment, noting that labeling everyday items (doormats, teacups) as “firsts” can trigger anxiety, especially in men. The overall advice encourages couples to make a personal decision based on mutual readiness, using a trial period to gauge compatibility before deciding on marriage.
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Welcome everybody to Love Life. Good to have you back again. We have a caller in today. Her name is Amber. Amber, are you there?
Yes, I'm here. How are you?
Ah, you know what Amber? I woke up and I didn't have time to get ready properly. So I just threw on clothes and it shows. It really shows today. Tanya, who works with me, she came in in a hat as well because she had the same problem. She came in sort of coordinated and fashionable with it. She thought of the right top to go with the hat and everything. I'm now in a blue baseball cap and a black leather jacket. So we both did it completely differently. She looks elegant and pretty, and I look like a mess.
Good thing you're on the radio.
Right, except for the fact that Jameson is filming me. Technically, I'm both on camera and radio, so I'm getting the worst of this.
Ooh, no good.
No, at least you can't see me yet, so that's something. So what was your question, Amber?
I was wondering, I've been, my boyfriend and I have been together a little bit over a year, and we're starting to think about moving in together. And I was just wondering, you know, when's too soon? Like, I've always kind of wanted to wait until we were, talking more about getting married and things like that. And I just wanted to get your advice on like, is it too soon? How do you know you're ready to move in with someone?
Yeah, I think that's a very good and intelligent and important question. There are lots of people I feel move in too quickly. They do it in the throes of the passionate stage of the relationship. And look, who among us hasn't fallen in love with someone and immediately thought, I just want to move in with them right this second, right now? And then they are really glad two months later that they didn't because it would have been too quick and they would have possibly wrecked the whole thing. Now, the opposite of that, I think, can be just as bad. If you, for example, and people have different beliefs on this, I'll just throw mine out there. When I hear people say, well, I want to marry, I want to get married to someone before I move in with them. I always find that to be a very dangerous, For me, I would much rather have lived with someone before I make the decision to marry them. Because who knows what they're like in that environment. Things change when you live with someone and everything to some extent is sped up and intensified because you're around each other the entire time. So I think for you, you have to make your own decision about whether it's really important for you to wait till marriage to do it. But what I would say is, Somewhere between the crazy passionate phase where you feel irrational and making a decision to be with someone forever, you should have a trial run at living with them. And I don't think that means necessarily going and taking out a mortgage together, but it does mean going and renting a place together that you can just have the experience of it. Even if it was on the basis of doing it for a few months, I think that a lot of the time, Moving in together is something that should take the form of a more of something more casual than it really is, if you understand what I mean. I think we should introduce moving in together, like, shall we move in together now? I think it's terrifying for people and I think it puts too much pressure on. If people say to each other, you know what? Look, we really like each other or we love each other and we've had such an amazing time together in our relationship. It feels like is going somewhere. Shall we try it for a few months? You know, there's no black and white. It's not like we're doing anything that we can't reverse. If it doesn't work out, then we'll change the situation. But why don't we try an apartment together for a few months and just see what happens? That, to me, is a very risk-free way of doing it that allows people to take the next step without the pressure of forever. which so many people throw themselves into. Does that make sense?
Yes, it definitely does. That's a really good way to look at it. I haven't thought about that.
Yeah, I feel like some of the most serious steps that you take in a relationship should be treated in a relaxed way.
Yeah.
And that allows people to go into them, especially guys who we all know can be terrified of the notion of a greater degree of commitment or investment. It allows them to have the, the best of both worlds, to both walk into more commitment whilst at the same time not giving it this grandiose meaning that people like to do. I always feel like the moment a woman starts, you know, saying, this is our first doormat together. Oh, my God. These are our first teacups that we've ever had together. These are. As soon as she starts saying that about everything, he's like, oh, my God, it's happening. I'm living with someone. I'm never going to be on my own again. He. He starts freaking out. But if you don't. Go down that route. Instead, you just treat it in a relaxed way, but allow it to happen. Both of you, I think, will be a lot happier.
Okay, awesome. Thank you. That's really, really good advice.
Thanks, Amber. I really appreciate you calling in. It was a cool question, a little different from some of the other things we've been getting. So thank you.
Of course. Thank you. Have a good day.
All right, you too. If you have a question for Love Life and you want to speak to me just like Amber did. Call in 844-204-62-88 that's 844-204-Matt I will.
