I met my boyfriend in the O2 and now we live together

Leicester’s very own love story


For most people, the longest-lasting thing you will retain from a mid-week night out at the SU is a two-day hangover or an infection that makes your pee burn, given to you by that semi-attractive guy you borrowed a rollie from.

For me, it was the most serious relationship I’ve ever had, with a person I’ve now been with for two years and am currently living with in the house we’re renting for our third year at uni. I’ll admit when he first staggered up to me on the dance floor, his tongue brightly stained from blue VKs, I didn’t think I was meeting the man I’d end up planning my life with, but here we are.

I get that living with your partner at University isn’t exactly a typical arrangement, and people may be quick to point out that living with the person you’re also sleeping with is a dangerous game. It’s hard to imagine anything more excruciating than breaking up with someone and having to spend the rest of your tenancy waiting until they’ve left the house so you can swiftly microwave a lasagna.

Luckily for me, I’ve never looked back on my decision and having already experienced living with house-mates in second year, I know which one I prefer. Nothing quite beats being able to come home to the person you feel most comfortable around, when you can just kick back after a long day of procrastinating, with someone who you don’t have to be ‘social’ with and who won’t passive-aggressively accuse you of stealing their milk. Living with your partner at university is great for so many reasons, not just in the ways that it beats sharing a house with seven other people you may or may not get on with, but also in a whole bunch of unexpected ways, as I’ve learned.

One thing that surprised me is the amount of money I’ve saved this year – aside from no longer spending a fortune on bus fare to visit my boyfriend’s halls across town, living together has also saved us a lot of money on things like food and recreation, as we cook together and no longer need to meet up at a bar or cafe when we want to hang out (although date nights are still a sacred and regular occurrence.)

On another practical note, it’s amazing how much tidier the house is when there’s just two of you, and you don’t even own enough dishes to overwhelm the sink.  It’s also handy to be living with someone who keenly shares your interests, who’ll always be up for watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race in the living room all day, or accompanying you to a 70s themed disco night you’re really excited about. We still have quite separate schedules and social lives, meaning that we have to consider each other if one of us if coming to bed at 4am while the other has a 9am lecture to attend, but that’s just as annoying as being woken up to the sound of your bladdered house-mates crashing through the front door.

More importantly it’s great to have such strong and readily available emotional support waiting for me at home, and knowing that I can share all of my stresses with someone who will actually listen and understand is probably the greatest aspect of us living together. I’m sure lots of people have very fulfilling and supportive relationships with their more platonic house mates, but for me I can’t imagine anything more ideal than what I’ve got at the moment, and whether or not that changes, I’ll be grateful for having lived with someone who made my final year at University as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.

(Footnote: not having to wear clothes anywhere in the house is always a good thing)

Photo credits: Rockstar Promotions