Boyfriends

Helen's got a boyfriend. It's official. How do I know it's official? She told us a couple of days ago. How does she know it's official. She asked him!

I am struggling to get my head round this. In my youth you either had a boyfriend/girlfriend or you didn't. There was no such thing as an "official" boyfriend. Having given the matter some thought, I am left with two possible options:-

1. The "official" boyfriend is the main one, implying that you also have a couple of others in tow just in case (not applicable in Helen's case), or

2. Someone in the last 30 years or so has, unnoticed by myself, invented another stage in the formal hierarchy of things which comes just before engagement and can best be defined as "a mutual commitment to each other unless or until something better comes along".

I am really clutching at straws here, so if there is anyone out there who really knows the answer to the conundrum "what is the difference between a normal boyfriend and an official boyfriend?" please get in touch. I need to know!