Rule number one: If you are out drinking, you must be home before 7pm or stay out until after 11pm.

There shall be no breathing on anybody and you have to sleep in a separate bed in a separate room.

So goes one couple’s agreement – fondly referred to as the 7/11 rule.

The couple are friends of Tom Elliott, but he thinks the whole arrangement is a little unreasonable.

A relationship expert disagreed.

Sue Yorston, senior manager Western Melbourne for Relationships Australia Victoria, said as long as both parties are happy with the rule, then it’s healthy for the relationship.

‘If that’s an agreement that couple has come to, and it suits their relationship and suits them, and no one is being pressured and no one feels resentful, then what works for them is okay.’ 

Ms Yorston said similar arrangements are common around ‘extra curricula activities such as going out with the boys and poker nights’.