A couple and their 5 kids live 'unblended' in 2 separate suites in the same house

• In November, Shelley Hunt shared a TikTok of how she and her partner live in a two-family house together.
• Hunt and her partner live in separate suites with their combined five kids from previous marriages.

Shelley Hunt and Peter Verge have been dating for three years, and they've been living under the same roof for most of their relationship.

In a TikTok video posted in November, Hunt shared that for the last two years, she and Verge have been living in a house with two suites in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. The viral TikTok video had over 6 million views at the time of writing.

"We live separately together," Hunt said in her video. "Blended, unblended."

Hunt lives in the two-bedroom, one-bathroom suite located in the back of the house with her two kids, while Verge lives in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom suite at the front of the house with his three kids.

The suites have completely separate entrances, and only share a small hallway where the laundry room is located.

Hunt, who works as a community programs manager for a nonprofit organization, told Insider that the couple decided to buy the home because they were both looking to purchase a new place at the same time.

While Hunt said that they had their doubts at first since they had only been dating for about a year, they ultimately decided it was the perfect scenario, as they could be close to each other but still do things separately.

"A lot of people have asked what happens if we break up, and it would be fine," she said. "It's actually way easier if we break up than if we had fully blended."

"I know people won't believe this part, but we've seen each other go through a divorce, so there's a lot of trust between the two of us," Hunt added.

When it comes to living expenses, Hunt said the bills are split based on the square footage each person takes up, so Verge pays for 58% of everything and she pays for 42%. She said that also includes an emergency fund they have for the house.

"I love being responsible for my finances. There's something that's very empowering about not having anybody else to blame if you've debited your account too much," she said.

Although Hunt and Verge live under the same roof, she said they don't actually see each other every day because of all the extracurricular activities their kids have. The couple also has a schedule with their exes, so they have their kids one week on and one week off.

When the kids aren't home, the couple spends as much time together as possible, according to Hunt. When the kids come back, Hunt and Verge usually have one big family dinner twice a week, but she said that isn't always a guarantee.

"We usually have a meal together and the kids love it," she said. "It's an opportunity for the kids to connect to each other, and I think they also love when they get their own parent to themselves."

Hunt said that she and Verge don't plan on moving into the same place while the kids are still living at home. Once the kids do move out, though, they might move into one suite and rent the other out.