Hotels, guest house, B and Bs

In the 50s and the 60s – and even well into the 70s – couples checking in would go to great lengths to disguise the fact that they were unmarried; hoteliers and B & B owners would be within their rights to refuse to have unmarried couples staying in their premises. People would buy or borrow a ring and often check in under a false name with a false address (no Internet to do a quick check back then); it is said that there were a lot of Mr and Mrs Smiths. The laws on divorce have changed too – back then, the question of guilt was very important, and being able to prove that your married partner had had an extra marital affair had great significance when splitting the marital assets. There were many divorce private investigators who would try to take photographs to prove extra marital affairs – they also tried to access the hotels’ or B&Bs’ guest book.