I think in any relationship the end comes when both people have given up.

I don't believe there is any formailty required legally. You can use google and find out as much as I can.

Regarding settlement. Yes, you are right. That is an option. What I want is for her to recognise and actually make a fair offer. For me it's about being treated fairly and with respect. Something she has done the complete opposite of in the way our marriage has ended. If she refuses to then it will require her to use a solicitor and the fees she will be obligated to pay to enforce a legal process will diminish the total asset pool. She will have to go through the whole process herself. I won't be seeking representation as i don't care how much i get, only that the division is legally just.

The end of a dating relationship can be heart rending, but take solace that this is not the dissolution of a marriage where vows were exchanged and broken. That is a completely higher level of loss.

You are now free to find someone new to date.

One cannot compare suffering.

You are now free to take your patronising sarcasm to a new thread.

It is not patronizing. If you are going to continue to convince yourself that this is the same as a real divorce, yeah, maybe it seems that way.

But everyone, including your ex-girlfriend, can see this is a dating relationship that is over. You can pretend all you want that she's your wife, but that doesn't make it true.

Your ex-girlfriend, who purposefully choice not to marry you, has left you. And you saying that it isn't o er until YOU give up, is a good precursor to a restraining order.

So when people are dating, on average, what percentage buy a house, accept proposals, buy rings, and have wedding ceremony with 100 friends and relatives?

A ball park figure will suffice.

PS. I have given up. Not that it makes any difference. Your relationship to a person does not make you immune from the laws of the country you live in.

Actually, a lot do as you described.
i was raised in an area populated by hippees and they would have ceremonies without legal licenses.

Wedding or "commitment" ceremony? See how easy it is to change words to suit your agenda.

Do you think your ex-girlfriend tells OM or others behind your back that she is your actual wife? Or does she say that she never actually went through with a real marriage, and it was just a ceremony?

See, not actually getting married means you can play it both ways, with one foot out the door. To you, she's a real wife. Things not going well? She can say she's not your real wife.

This ALWAYS happens here with people who claim marriage is just paper. It never matters - until it matters.

Who knows what percentage you seek? They can claim to be single the next day. I guess it depends what day you ask. This all works in your favour, in the end, but if you persist, you again deal with a commitment that is one foot out the door. To each their own, but I think your disrespectful attitude comes more from facing the reality that you were the only one who believed this to be a real wedding. Even your own "bride" knew she was half in.