The Word Miracle Church International has placed a prohibition on new couples from living in family houses. The step is to help stem the growing rate at which marriages are breaking up due to pressures from in-laws. The presiding Bishop of the church, Bishop Charles Agyin Asare described the situation where young men marry their wives into their family homes as against Biblical principles. Quoting the Bible in Genesis, Bishop Agyin Asare said “the Bible states explicitly that “A man will leave his mother and father and cling to his wife and become one flesh”. He argued that the pressure from the in-laws and siblings can break very successful marriages hence the decision of the church not to bless any marriage where the couple intends to live in their family house. The Bishop said the church encourages young men to live on their own and learn to manage their own lives before marrying. According to him, when spouses especially women live in the family homes, in-laws tend to see the wife as intruding and also as a servant thereby creating more agitations than usual in the home and eventually breaking the bond. Marriage Counselor at the Shattered Lives Rebuilding Ministries (SHAREM), Rev Mrs. Boadi Darkwah also spoke against couples living in family houses, adding that several marriages have suffered from it. A woman from Twifo Praso who shared her experiences on condition of anonymity, stated that it was a horrible treatment she would not wish for any of her siblings or children. Story: Maame Esi Nyamekye Thompson