Nicole Kidman’s old fashioned values get people talking

Many celebrities, you would think, don’t think much of old fashioned values around marriage.

So Nicole Kidman’s comments caught one celebrity by surprise when she suggested he should at least be getting engaged before he moves in with his girlfriend.

Nicole was on James Corden’s The Late Show this week alongside Game of Thrones star Kit Harington.

Kit, age 30, was saying how he and costar girlfriend Rose Leslie had moved in together and he was very happy.

Nicole piped up with the marriage question. “Are you going to get married or … ? I just think it’s kind of nice if you’re going to live together maybe to at least get engaged.”

While Kit replied with the comment, it’s a step by step process, it makes you think about how much times really have changed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that marriage is still a popular choice for couples but many prefer to ‘try before the buy’.

In 2014 there were over 120,000 marriages in Australia. Almost 80 per cent of those marriages were between couples who had lived together first. For 80 per cent it was also their first marriage. At the same time there were over 45000 divorces granted. In 2015 there were less marriages but more divorces.

Looking back at 1995 however the numbers are much different, but it is not what you would think. There were even less marriages (109,386 vs 113,595) but even more divorces (49,712 vs 48,517).

Living together, or de facto relationships, saw an increase after World War II with a change in social attitudes, but it wasn’t always recognised. It wasn’t until 1982 that the ABS even started collecting date on de facto relationships. At the time five per cent said they were in a de facto relationship.

So what do you think? Is Nicole right? Should Kit bring out the ring or should he quite happily co-habit with his girlfriend?