16. Ibid. People who cohabit before marriage end up getting divorced at higher rates than those who do not cohabit before the wedding. However, there is no agreement on why this is true. Some believe that the experience of cohabitation teaches people bad habits that later serve the couple poorly when they are married. Others theorize that people who choose to cohabit before marriage have different characteristics than those who do not, and it is these preexisting characteristics, not the cohabitation itself, that causes the marriages to later break up. These theories do not make much difference to the ultimate finding. The willingness to cohabit is associated with future marital weakness. Regardless of the causes, a desire and choice to cohabit weakens your chances for a strong future marriage.