Remember The Golden Girls show – four older women famously sharing a Miami home? 

That sitcom setup isn’t just TV fiction anymore – it’s increasingly becoming a savvy retirement reality.

Across America, older women are turning to shared living arrangements in a bid to remain financially stable, avoid the isolation that can come with aging and rebel against the expired idea that growing older inevitably means a care facility. 

For 89-year-old Shirley Jennett, leaving her home was simply never on the agenda.

The retired nurse had spent years building a life she loved in her spacious ranchesque house in Denver, Colorado and had no intention of giving it up. 

‘I want to stay here,’ she firmly told the Daily Mail ‘And die here.’

Full of energy with a fierce independent streak, Jennett still shops for her own groceries, devours novels and runs her household with the tenacity of someone half her age.

But while Jennett knew she could cope alone, her family worried.

What if she fell? What if she became ill? What if nobody was nearby when she needed help?

NBC’s sitcom Golden Girls aired from 1985 to 1992 and featured four women living together in Miami as they experience the joys and angst of their golden years; strong-willed Dorothy, spacey Rose, Southern belle Blanche and matriarch Sophia

Just like ‘The Golden Girls’, these women have discovered the secret to aging might well not be living alone but enjoying life together. Pictured : Susan Beese, left, and Shirley Jennett, right

Meet Shirley Jennett, 89, a retired nurse who adores her Denver home and refuses to relinquish her freedom to a care home

Enter Susan Beese, 79, a retail worker who was looking for a solution to her rent problem accompanied by her sidekick Panda 

Jennett laughs as she recalls one incident when she took a longer-than-usual shower, only to emerge to a phone full of anxious messages from concerned relatives.

‘I mean, what the heck!’ she says, in fits of laughter. ‘Can’t even take a shower in peace!’

For strong-willed Jennett the solution to her family’s concerns was not a care facility, it was 79-year-old Susan Beese.

Beese, a longtime retail worker, had spent years struggling with rising housing costs. Her small one-bedroom apartment had become increasingly difficult to afford as rent rocketed above $1,500 a month, despite her perseverance to work a four-day week.

Neither woman was initially looking for a new best friend. They were looking for something practical: security for Jennett and affordable housing for Beese.

Through Sunshine Home Share Colorado, a housing matchmaking organization that connects older adults seeking companionship and shared living arrangements, the two women began the process of finding out whether they would be a good fit.

They completed profiles outlining their preferences, lifestyles, habits and expectations – essentially creating a retirement version of a roommate compatibility test.

The result was a solid match. 

With the additional help from Sunshine Home Share Colorado the two were matched as the ideal housemates for one another and immediately hit it off, becoming fast friends 

As the cost of assisted living and retirement rises many seniors are left desperately searching for alternatives

Now, Beese pays Jennett $800 a month to live in a comfortable two-bedroom space on the lower level of her home, equipped with big windows and complete with her own bathroom and kitchen area.

In exchange, Beese helps with everyday tasks: watering and planting in Jennett’s beloved garden, taking out the trash and preparing occasional meals.

And there was even room for one more unexpected housemate: Beese’s loyal dog ‘Panda.’

Although Jennett had originally insisted she didn’t want a pet, Panda managed to woo her and she eventually relented.

‘She takes care of it completely,’ Jennett says.

What started as a practical arrangement soon became a budding friendship that neither woman expected.

‘It’s been a lifesaver’ Beese shares.

‘We’re good friends,’ Jennett says with conviction. ‘I feel like we are, all three of us.’

Studies reveal about one-third of households headed by someone 65 or older were ‘cost-burdened’

And for her family, the arrangement brought enormous relief.

‘They’re very, very pleased for us,’ she says, adding ‘it really was a win win, I’m surprised it’s not more known about as an option.’

Alison Joucovsky, executive director of the home-sharing organization Sunshine Home Share Colorado that the ladies used, founded the nonprofit in 2016 after recognizing just how many older adults were being squeezed by rising housing costs.

She recalls receiving calls from seniors who were spending the bulk of their Social Security checks on rent, while others faced years-long waiting lists for subsidized housing. At the same time, many older homeowners were living alone in houses with empty bedrooms they no longer needed.  

‘Home sharing is a really efficient way to create affordable housing and support older people who want to age in place,’ Joucovsky told The Seattle Times.

The organization carefully matches ‘home providers’ with ‘home sharers,’ vetting everything from personalities and lifestyles to expectations and routines before introducing potential housemates. Last year, Sunshine facilitated 31 successful home shares – a record for the nonprofit.

And it’s far from an isolated success story.

Jennett and Beese’s story reflects a growing movement among older adults who are redefining what retirement can look like

Lawmakers are also beginning to take notice. Several states have introduced or passed legislation designed to make home sharing easier by preventing local authorities from restricting homeowners who want to rent spare rooms to unrelated adults. 

In Pennsylvania and Connecticut, the proposals have even been nicknamed ‘Golden Girls bills,’ in honor of the sitcom and have drawn bipartisan support.

Colorado state Representative Manny Rutinel helped pass legislation in 2024 preventing cities and counties from limiting the number of unrelated people who can live together in a single home. 

‘So many young people have basically given up on buying a home,’ he said.

Pennsylvania Representative Tarik Khan has championed similar legislation, arguing: ‘It doesn’t make sense that your cousin can move in, but someone unrelated to you can’t.’

Home sharing won’t solve America’s housing crisis on its own, but advocates believe it could unlock thousands of empty bedrooms already sitting unused across the country, creating affordable homes without building a single new property.

For women like Jennett and Beese, though, the benefits go far beyond housing.

What began as a practical arrangement has become friendship, security and peace of mind.

Perhaps The Golden Girls were onto something after all…