It is the perfect time of the year to break up with that loser boyfriend: today, December 11, is the most common day on which couples break up.
That’s according to Hannah Blackiston, former deputy editor at Mumbrella who runs the blog Lad Bible.
For Blackiston, December is the last month of the year to not only get rid of bad habits you do not want to take into the new year, but bad relationships too.
Whether it is drinking, partying, smoking or eating too much pizza, people love to leave it all behind in December, even if it is for a short while and they pick back up those same bad habits as the new year warms up.
She said reasons for break ups differed. For some, it’s not wanting to go on holiday with someone you are not interested in, or not wanting to introduce your partner to your friends and family over Christmas.
According to Facebook, it might be first and foremost because people do not want to buy Christmas presents for someone they do not want to be with and mid-December is also an easy time to be with friends and family, to help ease the transition into singledom.
Lad Bible psychologist Dr Dorree Lynn said that if you were not sure or had not been dating for several years, many people had issues about gift giving and how intimate the gift giving is.
“They get frightened because they do not want to put pressure on the other person, but on the other hand they do not want to feel like a fool giving something and not getting anything back,” she said.
Dating columnist and podcaster Jana Hocking gave this advice on how to avoid being dumped.
“Giving each other space. When you are in a relationship, you can give each other companionship and support as you each face life’s tricky moments, but it does not have to be a full-time job.
“Be accepting. Let your partner be themselves and accept them for who they are and leave them the heck alone.
“Choose to do something you have never done before, do not get stuck in the same old routine, try new things, whether it is spicing things up in the bedroom or going on an adrenaline-packed adventure,” said Hocking.
The Independent on Saturday