The advice Molly-Mae and Tommy need to read as cohabitants who are separating

Fans of ITV’s popular reality series Love Island may have been dismayed this week to hear that one of the show’s star couples, Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, have ended their five-year relationship.

Fashion influencer Molly-Mae and cruiserweight boxer Tommy, both 25, have gotten engaged and have a daughter, Bambi, 18 months old.

Boxer Tyson Fury’s half-brother Tommy reportedly moved out of their Cheshire home before the couple announced their split on social media.

But, as a couple who lives together without being married and separates, what rights does each have over the shared home? Could one have to pay alimony to the other? And who controls what happens to their child?

This is Money columnist Stephen Gold has recently written a series of articles that might help you figure out exactly that.

The former judge explained exactly what the law says about the rights of de facto couples, which are very different from those of married couples or couples in civil unions.

First, it outlines the risks that cohabitants need to consider and whether the concept of a “common law” husband or wife has any legal basis.

In his next column, Stephen explains how unmarried couples can draw up a cohabitation agreement and why this could give them some of the rights they wouldn’t normally have after a breakup.

Agreements can address issues such as who will own what, how expenses will be shared, arrangements regarding children and pets, alimony, payment of a home care allowance, and even who does household chores.

The good news for Tommy and Molly-Mae is that it is not too late to draw up such an agreement (if both are willing), as this can still be done after a separation.

For most couples, the most important financial question after a separation is what will happen to the family home.

And unfortunately it seems Tommy may have inadvertently fallen into a classic legal trap for cohabitants.

Stephen Gold’s number one piece of advice for cohabiting couples when it comes to property is that if one partner isn’t listed on the deed, include them.

But according to Land Registry documents at the time of the purchase, Molly-Mae is the sole owner of the couple’s £3.8m home in Cheshire.

If both partners are registered as co-owners of the property, the property will most likely have to be sold and the proceeds shared between them after a separation.

If that’s not the case, things get more complicated, as Stephen explains.

Ultimately, Molly-Mae and Tommy will have to sort out what their breakup means, in practical terms, for raising their daughter.

This is one area of ​​the law where the rights of cohabitants do not differ much from those of married parents.

In the latest column in her series on cohabitation, Gold explains how they might decide how to share parental responsibilities, where their daughter will live and how much child support she might be entitled to.