IT'S LIKE MARRIAGE, with less hassle

They share childcare, cooking, cleaning and bills. Here’s how grown-up flat-sharing became a smart, and enjoyable, way to live for these women

- KATREEN HARDT

‘WE CALL HOME OUR MUMMUNE’

Sonja de Rooij, 41, is a single mum. The account manager lives with her children Milla, five, and Jake, three, and single mum Armandine Gaulin, 34, and her daughter Mia, five, in Brighton. I got chatting to Armandine while on a playdate with Milla in November 2018. She and I were in similar situations – recently separated from our partners, mothers struggling to find a decent place to live. I joked we should find somewhere together, thinking if we pooled our budgets we’d get more space.

Not long after that, I came across a beautiful terraced house with two living rooms, a large kitchen, two master bedrooms plus a huge garden. Although Armandine and I barely knew each other, after showing her the house, she agreed we should take the plunge. We moved into our ‘mummune’ in March last year.

Free hair cuts

Armandine is a hairdresser and works Saturdays, so often I’ll have the place to myself. When she has a day off, she’ll cook a fantastic vegan meal. We share the cost of the house based on a percentage of what we earn. Since my income is higher, I pay more on bills but have a bigger bedroom and Armandine does my hair for free.