Ive been dating my new partner for almost a year and a half and we've been living together for almost a year. My kids are calling her a 'stepmom' to their friends, even though they know that to be a 'stepmom' your parent actually has to be married to them - Im guessing that they just dont know what other label to use. Weve talked extensively about relationships and their meaning and I know that we have a very strong foundation, common beliefs on most major issues and I believe the long term risk of infidelity is extremely low. We are both very transparent - she has no lock on her phone and I have one (for work) but she knows the password and has a fingerprint stored.
That said, how do you know when it's time to take the next step? I got burned in my first marriage pretty badly. Im not sure that being 'married' at this point would really change much day-to-day for me, her, or my children. Im really not sure what another day, week, month, year or decade would change. So how do you know? What sign(s) do you look for?
