I never married XABF. He did move himself in with me when I moved into my current apartment. I kicked him out six months later, when I hit my bottom and broke things off, but in the meantime he supervised my every move and I didn't go anywhere without him (because I wasn't allowed). He didn't go anywhere without me, either...
Fast forward over a year, and I ran into the cleaning lady in the building some time last week. I was dressed up nicely and she asked where I was going, so I told her my boyfriend's.
She got this look and said, "I thought you were married."
"No..."
Now she has that 'Oh you poor dear' look and informed me, "I'm so sorry."
What could I do? "Well, have a nice day! I've got to get going!"
I think I handled it well, but boy that was awkward.
People outside of our experiences don't really understand. Heck, sometimes people in the same experience are too deep in denial to understand.
I think the important thing is to do what is right for you, and if someone else doesn't approve, too bad.
That said, my family will never know the details of my experiences, because I do not trust them with that information. They know enough that they don't ask, and that's all they're going to get.
And that's okay.