Two Single Moms Moved in Together to Raise Their Five Kids & Their Story Is Changing How People Think About Family

Sep 04, 2026 by apost team

Bernie Sinclaire had dreamed about it since before she was even pregnant. Growing up as the oldest of six children raised by a single mother, she had watched her mom carry the weight of parenting alone — and had quietly resolved that if she ever had children of her own, she would find a different way.

The idea was a "mommune" — a household of women raising their children together, splitting the financial burden, the childcare, the cooking, the emotional load. Not a romantic partnership. Not a traditional family structure. A community. The kind of arrangement that, as anthropologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy has written, reflects how humans evolved to raise children: collectively, in groups, with women working together rather than apart.

Sinclaire, 38, a mother of two based in New York City, found her partner in the arrangement when she met Anabelle Gonzalez, 39, also a single mother. The two had already been spending increasing amounts of time together — doing what Sinclaire describes as "nuclear family-type things" — when the financial reality of single parenthood in New York City made the decision feel less like an ideal and more like a necessity.

"We were both struggling with the financial and housing affordability challenges," Sinclaire told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview published August 27, 2026. She proposed co-living. Gonzalez said yes.

Together, they now share a New York City apartment with five children between them — managing household responsibilities, childcare schedules, and the particular demands of raising a blended non-traditional family in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Their story was featured as an exclusive in PEOPLE. They are hoping it inspires others to consider the same.

The word "mommune" has been gaining traction in online parenting circles for several years — a combination of "mom" and "commune" that describes informal co-living arrangements between single mothers. It is not a new concept. The CBS sitcom "Kate & Allie," which ran from 1985 to 1989, followed two divorced friends raising their three children together in a New York City apartment. What is new is the language, the visibility, and the economic pressure making it increasingly appealing.

For Sinclaire and Gonzalez, the arrangement has required navigating questions that most household partnerships do not face. Who makes what decisions about each other's children? How do you handle disagreements? What does it mean to share a home with someone who is a co-parent but not a romantic partner? Sinclaire describes Gonzalez as a "life wife" — a term increasingly used to describe the depth of a platonic partnership built around shared domestic life.

"I really loved the idea of living with another single mom," Gonzalez told PEOPLE.

Both women say the arrangement has worked because of the clarity they brought to it from the beginning — explicit conversations about roles, responsibilities, and expectations that most people living together never have. They divide finances, cooking, and school runs. They back each other up on the hard days.

Sinclaire's goal now is broader than her own household. She hopes their story encourages other single mothers to "choose community" — to look at their lives and ask whether the model they inherited is the only available one. For five children growing up in a New York City apartment with two mothers who chose each other, the answer is clearly no.

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Do you think the "mommune" model is something more single parents should consider? Do you think Bernie and Anabelle's story challenges what a family is supposed to look like? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and anyone raising children on their own.