In this paper we use data from a new survey of unmarried parents – the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey – which interviews parents shortly after birth. The survey collects information from both mothers and fathers on a wide range of topics, including parents’ relationship, attitudes toward marriage and parenthood, parents’ human capital, and sources of income and social support. We use these data to address two questions: What is the nature of the relationship between unmarriedparents? And, what are the capabilities of unmarried parents, especially fathers? Getting the facts straight about the nature of parents’ relationships is critical forunderstanding the potential impact of the new child support and welfare laws and for designing effective programs and policies. Not only can policies be more effective if they are tailored to actual rather than presumed parental relationships, but they have thepotential to influence the relationships themselves.