Elderly opt to live together outside marriage Longer life expectancy for men in particular - who have begun to narrow the gap on women as a result of healthier lifestyles and workplaces - has led to a decline in the number of widows living on their own. There are now 2.7 million widows or widowers in England and Wales - 200,000 fewer than 10 years earlier despite a major increase in the elderly population. The ONS said that his drop might be partly explained by women widowed in the Second World War passing away in the last decade as well as longer life expectancy overall. But while the proportion of older people who were married rose steadily over the decade between the two censuses the proportion who were divorced doubled. According to the ONS, this helped drive the increase in people living together unmarried - with older people who divorce also being more likely to live with a new partner without getting married. Overall three out of five older cohabitees are themselves divorced. But divorce lawyers said a more relaxed attitude to the idea of cohabiting among today's pensioners was also clearly playing a part. Overall the number of over 65s cohabiting rose from 132,000 in 2001 to 262,000 at the last census - an increase from 1.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent of the retired population. Vicki McLynn, a partner in the family law at Pannone Solicitors, said: "Given also that cohabitation is no longer regarded as almost the taboo that it once was, those of pension age feel able to enter new relationships without a any kind of compulsion to marry again." She added: "In previous generations, individuals might have remained in unhappy marriages because of the social stigma of getting divorced, whereas it is now much more acceptable. Add to that how life expectancy has increased and one gets a sense of their wanting to enjoy however many years they have left. Michelle Mitchell, director general of Age UK said: "This is an interesting development. Whilst sharing your house with someone is not a guarantee against loneliness, research shows that the more time a person spends on their own, the more likely they are to feel lonely. Around one third of those aged over 65 report feeling lonely, a figure that is far too high and we must as a society do more to bring older people into the heart of our families and communities.