[flagged]
- You might not know their status (married? Dating?) and the phrase “significant other” is clunky
- for grown adults, terms like boyfriend/girlfriend can come off as a little dismissive or juvenile
To me it's simple
1. Married -> Husband/Wife
2. Dating -> Girlfriend/Boyfriend
3. Middle Ground -> Fiance/fiancee
I've yet to see a case this doesn't cover so "partner" seems like a solution looking for a problem.
That’s like thinking “I can just replace null with 0 or empty string. Means the same thing”
There are plenty of couples who may as well be married, but choose not to participate in that social construct.
Your comment about correctness is a bit ironic in context however.