The term "girlfriend" took on rather negative connotations this week. Like "white house intern" did a few years ago. Granted, she was quite the girlfriend and the boyfriend should have known better. This isn't a political blog so I won't go further with this.
But the "girlfriend" thing brings up a unique aspect of coupledom in Quebec where a "girlfriend" is known as a "blonde". It might be because blondes have more fun although the expression isn't used in French.
Interestingly, being someone's "blonde" is not limited to girlfriends. It's very common in Quebec to hear a 45-year-old man refer to the mother of his children as his "blonde" and her referring to him as her "chum".
It might have something to do with the fact that there are proportionally more common-law unions in Quebec than in the rest of Canada (see the chart below). You move in with someone that's your "blonde" or your "chum" and you're still together 20 years later with kids to whom mom (even a brunette mom) and dad are each other's "blonde" and "chum".
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