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Unmarried couples need not live in fear that they’ll be busted for cohabitation. Matt Galka tells us about the 148 year old repeal the Governor signed Wednesday.

Tallahassee bartender Lee Matthews has lived with members of the opposite sex in the past

“I’ve had female roommates,” he said.

And now he lives with his girlfriend. Under an old Florida law, all of that was illegal.

“My mother and her mother might have other opinions on that but no, it’s easy, it makes sense, I think for a lot of people it’s a decision in a relationship that financially makes sense or for the relationship it makes sense,” he said.

Florida’s Governor took the 1868 law off the books Wednesday – signing a repeal of the statute that hasn’t been enforced in decades.

Florida was just one of three states with a cohabitation ban still in effect. Relationship therapist Randy Vickers says times have changed for a lot of couples.

“They have much more immediate issues that they’re coming in for for therapy and help,” he said.

Breaking the old law came with a possible 60 days in jail and 500 dollar fine.  House Sponsor Richard Stark says even though it wasn’t being enforced…doesn’t mean it couldn’t be enforced.

“People who are of medicare age, if they want to live together, they don’t get married, they don’t want to give up their social security, they have to think about things like this. It should be decriminalized, it should be repealed off the books,” Stark said last month.

Cohabitation was viewed as lewd lascivious behavior when the law was written…and didn’t apply to same-sex couples.