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Based on data collected during a study of young people in new relationships, this article aims to understand the shifts between the time when young adults want to “make the most of being young” and the point at which they settle down for the first time as a couple. This period of youth is marked by social norms that have a different impact depending on the individual’s sex and social origin, but which in any case give the couple the function of founding a future family. Organized in four sections, the article attempts to reconstruct the different stages of this process in order to understand the disparities which ultimately reflect socially assigned roles; while norms about motherhood and reproduction continue to weigh on women, men are still seen as having to provide material support for the household.