24 AL-NASHIF v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT in the conservation of the national and cultural values and traditions” (see paragraph 39 above). B. The Court's assessment 1. Whether there was “family life” within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention 112. The existence or non-existence of “family life” is essentially a question of fact depending upon the reality in practice of close personal ties (see K. and T. v. Finland [GC], no. 25702/94, ECHR 2001-VII, § 150). Nevertheless, it follows from the concept of family on which Article 8 is based that a child born of a marital union is ipso jure part of that relationship; hence, from the moment of the child's birth and by the very fact of it, there exists between him and his parents a bond amounting to “family life” which subsequent events cannot break save in exceptional circumstances (see the Berrehab v. the Netherlands judgment of 21 June 1988, Series A no. 138, p. 14, § 21, the Hokkanen v. Finland judgment of 23 September 1994, Series A no. 299-A, p. 19, § 54, the Gül v. Switzerland judgment of 19 February 1996, Reports 1996, § 32, and Ciliz v. the Netherlands, no. 29192/95, §§ 59 and 60, ECHR 2000-VIII). Insofar as relations in a couple are concerned, “family life” encompasses families based on marriage and also de facto relationships. When deciding whether a relationship can be said to amount to “family life”, a number of factors may be relevant, including whether the couple live together, the length of their relationship and whether they have demonstrated their commitment to each other by having children together or by any other means (see the Kroon and Others v. the Netherlands judgment of 27 October 1994, Series A no. 297-C, pp. 55-56, § 30, and the X, Y and Z v. the United Kingdom judgment of 22 April 1997, Reports 1997-II, § 36). 113. In the present case, in 1992 Mr Al-Nashif and Mrs Saleh came together to Bulgaria from Kuwait as a married couple and have apparently been regarded as such for all purposes. Two children were born to them in 1993 and 1994. Although Mr Al-Nashif contracted a religious marriage with another woman, Ms M., that marriage had no legal effect in Bulgaria. Further, there is no decisive evidence supporting the Government's allegation that Ms M. and the first applicant lived together in Smolyan. In any event, Ms M. stayed in that town less than a year. Mr Al-Nashif continued living in Smolyan with his wife, Mrs Saleh, and their two children until the moment of his arrest in 1999 (see paragraphs 11 and 14-20 above).