Is a 17 year Romance looked as De Facto Relationship?

Throughout the course of the relationship the man and woman expressed love and affection for one another, had a sexual relationship and spent various time together including overseas travel.
The man assisted the woman in the purchase of her house by gifting her $24,000.00. The man also maintained the woman by making regular monthly payments to her.
In this instance the woman applied to the Family Court of Australia for a Declaration that the relationship was De Facto in nature.

The Family Court, when considering whether a relationship is De Facto in nature considers the following:

The meaning of a de facto relationship

A person is in a de facto relationship with another person if:

the persons are not legally married to each other; and

the persons are not related by family; and

having regard to all circumstances of their relationship, there is a relationship as a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis.

The Court will consider all of the circumstances of the particular relationship, but in particular will think about the following:

the duration of the relationship;

the nature and extent of their common residence;

whether a sexual relationship exists;

the degree of financial dependence or interdependence, and any arrangements for financial support, between them;

the ownership, use and acquisition of their property;

the degree of mutual commitment to a shared life;

whether the relationship is or was registered under a prescribed law of a State or Territory as a prescribed kind of relationship;

the care and support of children; and

the reputation and public elements of the relationship.

It is important to note that no particular finding in relation to any circumstance is to be regarded as necessary in deciding whether the persons have a de facto relationship.

A court determining whether a de facto relationship exists is eligible for have regard to such matters, and to attach such weight to any matter, as could appear appropriate to the court in the circumstances of the case.

In the example of Jonah & White the Court considered that on the evidence as a whole the parties maintained separate lives, the man living with his Wife and children in their matrimonial home and the woman living by herself in her own residence.

Although the parties came together, on a regular basis, for amounts of time during which they enjoyed a loving, sexual relationship, the Court formed the opinion that absent from the relationship was the “merger of two lives into one”, or the “coupledon”. The Court accepted that the long-standing nature of the relationship was a pointer toward the relationship being a de facto relationship, as too did the presence of the sexual nature of the relationship and the financial support provided.
Nevertheless, the Court determined that the relationship wasn’t in this instance not a De Facto Relationship.
Notation:

a de facto relationship can exist between 2 persons of different sexes and between 2 persons of the same sex; and

a de facto relationship can exist even if one of the persons is legally married to another person or in another de facto relationship.

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