{"id":26881,"date":"2026-08-09T23:16:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=26881"},"modified":"2026-08-09T23:16:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:16:40","slug":"bostonskyi-shliub-materi-spilne-zhyttia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/lifestyle\/bostonskyi-shliub-materi-spilne-zhyttia\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abBoston marriages\u00bb in Ukraine: why mothers choose to live together"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"news-lead\">In Ukraine, there has been a noticeable rise in interest in \u00abBoston marriages\u00bb \u2014 an arrangement in which two women run a shared household, split the costs and support one another. It is a topic of particular discussion among single mothers: sharing a home can ease the financial and day-to-day burdens. Romantic or sexual relationships are not a prerequisite for such a partnership.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\">\n<p><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The topic of two women living together is being discussed more widely in 2026.<\/li>\n<li>Mothers are attracted by the division of responsibilities between rent, household chores and childcare.<\/li>\n<li>Olena and Olya have been living with their children since the outbreak of the full-scale war.<\/li>\n<li>The median long-term rent rose by approximately 15% over the past six months.<\/li>\n<li>There are no statistics on the number of such households in Ukraine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The term, which dates back to the 19th century, has taken on a new practical meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The term \u00abBoston marriage\u00bb first appeared in the 19th century. It was used to describe a long-term living arrangement between two financially independent women outside the context of a traditional marriage to a man. The nature of such relationships could be friendly, collaborative or romantic.<\/p>\n<p>In modern usage, the term often refers to a platonic partnership in which two women organise their lives together. This may be <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/economics\/shtrafy-za-chornu-orendu-kvartyr-pravyla\/\">rental<\/a> a larger flat or house, taking turns with cooking, shopping for groceries and doing household chores. In terms of how daily life is organised, such a household may resemble a family, although it does not involve a romantic relationship.<\/p>\n<h2>The story of Olena and Olia sparked a debate<\/h2>\n<p>One example that caught the attention of social media was the story of Olena and Olia. They met about ten years ago in a community for expectant mothers, and after the full-scale war began, they moved in together with their children.<\/p>\n<p>Women share financial outgoings, housework and responsibility for running the home, and refer to their household as a team. In the comments on the posts, some female users wrote that they would also consider this way of life, particularly if they were bringing up a child on their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Rising rental costs make shared accommodation a more financially attractive option<\/h2>\n<p>Economic factors may account for some of the interest in this model. According to property market data, in the first half of 2026, the median cost of long-term flat rentals in Ukraine rose by approximately 15%. On average, there were more than 15 enquiries per advert.<\/p>\n<p>In some regions, the costs are particularly high: in western Ukraine, rent can in some cases amount to as much as 75% of the average wage. For a mother who has to pay for her own accommodation, utilities, food, transport and her child\u2019s needs, this places a significant financial burden on her.<\/p>\n<p>When sharing a flat, two adults can split the cost of rent and utilities, as well as some of the expenses for food, internet, household cleaning products, furniture and appliances. However, saving money is just one aspect of this arrangement.<\/p>\n<h2>Balancing time and childcare is just as important as money<\/h2>\n<p>Juggling work with dropping off and picking up a child from school or nursery, cooking, shopping and cleaning is difficult even with a steady income. Living together makes it possible to take turns looking after the children if the other woman is held up at work, to cook dinner or to take the children to their activities.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion on social media is no longer limited to stories from old friends. Some women are considering finding another mother with a child to share a flat with. In this scenario, what matters most is compatibility in everyday life, similar expectations and mutual benefit, rather than how long they have known each other.<\/p>\n<h2>Living together requires agreements, and the scale of the phenomenon has not yet been measured<\/h2>\n<p>Before moving in, it is important to agree on the terms of the tenancy and <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/vazhlyvo-znaty\/new-rules-of-the-law-of-the-republic-of-kazakhstan\/\">utility bills<\/a>, groceries, cleaning, guests, personal space, childcare, responsibility for property and the check-out procedure. Living together does not guarantee psychological compatibility: conflicts may arise over money, different approaches to parenting, boundaries and household chores.<\/p>\n<p>The prominence of this issue in 2026 coincided with the war, the displacement of people, the separation of families, rising housing costs and the need for many women to work and look after their children at the same time. There are no representative studies or official statistics on the number of such households, so interest in the model does not yet imply its widespread adoption.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The interest in \u2018Boston-style\u2019 marriages in Ukraine is linked to higher rental costs and the need for mothers to share the daily workload.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":207433404,"featured_media":26880,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_description":"\u0406\u043d\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0441 \u0434\u043e \u0431\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0448\u043b\u044e\u0431\u0443 \u0432 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u0456 \u043f\u043e\u0432\u2019\u044f\u0437\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0456\u0437 \u0434\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0447\u043e\u044e \u043e\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0434\u043e\u044e \u0442\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0435\u0431\u043e\u044e \u043c\u0430\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0456\u0432 \u0440\u043e\u0437\u0434\u0456\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438 \u0449\u043e\u0434\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435 \u043d\u0430\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0430\u0436\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f.","rank_math_title":"\u0411\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0448\u043b\u044e\u0431: \u0441\u043f\u0456\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0435 \u0436\u0438\u0442\u0442\u044f \u0431\u0435\u0437 \u0440\u043e\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0438\u0445 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u0441\u0443\u043d\u043a\u0456\u0432","rank_math_focus_keyword":"\u0411\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0448\u043b\u044e\u0431","td_subtitle":"","subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[805621],"tags":[806775],"class_list":["post-26881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","tag-806775"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207433404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26882,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26881\/revisions\/26882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}