There’s no doubting that two incomes are better than one and by sharing the cost of living with a partner, you can often have a better lifestyle – a bigger house, newer car or more exotic holidays. But how hard is it to give all that up if your relationship starts to turn sour?

Well, according to new research from Skipton Building Society, one in 20 couples are staying together because they claim they cannot afford to break up. Rising property prices and high levels of debt are being blamed for the dramatic increase in the number of these ‘Money Over Love Couples’ (MOLCs).

In the survey nearly one in 10 people (9%) said that they would be more likely to leave their partner if money was taken out of the equation, with 7% of respondents saying that they are unhappy with their current partner.

Being under pressure financially means that things have got pretty uncomfortable for some – 11% of people have friends who carried on living with an ex even though things got difficult.

The high cost of modern living is blamed for the rise in MOLC partnerships – more than three quarters of respondents (76%) feel that the number of couples who can’t afford to break up has risen over the last five years.

A similar number (75%) think it’s because having large amounts of equity in a property makes it difficult to buy out a partner. Two thirds (64%) blame extortionate property prices and 41% claim that rising personal debt makes it hard to afford to live alone.

It seems that women are more anxious at the prospect of separation. One in three (35%) women say they wouldn’t be able to afford their mortgage repayments if they split from their partner, compared with only 15% of men. Nearly one in five (18%) women would have to return to work and one in six (16%) would have to rely on their ex for financial support, compared with just 1% of men.

Jennifer Holloway, head of media relations at Skipton Building Society, said: "There's no doubting two incomes are better than one and by sharing the cost of living, couples can have a nicer lifestyle - but at what cost to their relationship?"

"While we're seeing a growing trend for those choosing the high life over their love life, for those who decide to make the break, it's important they get their finances in order to make the most of what money they have."

"Even better is for couples moving in together to consider completing a living together agreement, such as the one recently launched by advicenow.org.uk, which sets out their financial position before getting too far down the line."