Enduring commitment: older couples living apart

As people live longer, there is an increasing possibility of couples becoming separated because one partner moves into a care home. Our qualitative mixed-method pilot study in English town involved eight married aged over 65 years to explore experiences and practices couplehood these circumstances. This article focuses on the most striking emergent element expressed now challenged long-term relationships: commitment. Drawing in-depth (biographical) individual joint interviews, observations emotion maps, this explores how separation affected couples’ current sense enactment commitment relationship. Commitment partnership often one-sided. How committed community-living feels – its heavily shaped by shared history happy unhappy periods relationships, contextual constraints, family institutional support.