I’m working on a book about recovering from a breakup. As part of that project, I’m building a list of all the reasons why romantic relationships end. Here’s what I have so far, in no particular order:
- betrayal
- infidelity
- lack of love
- lack of like
- loss of love
- obsession
- jealousy
- emotional abuse
- physical abuse
- abuse of someone outside the relationship
- immaturity
- too few shared interests
- too few shared responsibilities
- too little communication
- too similar personalities
- depression
- getting an STD
- instability
- different goals
- different lifestyles
- different cultural backgrounds
- different standards of personal hygiene
- different standards of living
- money
- different sexual orientations
- different beliefs
- too much conflict
- too little spice
- too little attraction
- loss of attraction
- too much deception
- long distances
- having the long distance removed
- turns out the last spouse didn’t really die in the war
- turns out the last spouse is still the legal spouse
- turns out one partner isn’t the gender they appeared to be
- stubbornness
- saying things that can’t be taken back
- inability to forgive
- having to forgive too often
- too little time spent together
- too much time spent together
- different ideas about what a relationship should be
- different views on marriage
- different views on sex
- not enough sex
- too much sex
- bad sex
- bad kissing
- not enough affection
- too much affection for mom
Now, help me out. What else do I need to add to the list?
Image: Courtesy Flickr/ katerha
What an extraordinary and amusing list. I would add “lack of respect” and “willful disregard for the opinions of one’s partner,” but I can’t really think of anything else.
Both excellent reasons. Someone on Twitter added ‘pregnancy’
In LA, definitely “one person thinks they can find someone better/someone better is just around the corner”
It may be folded into other ones listed like “lifestyle,” but I’ve seen a couple relationships end because one person was more social than the other
True story. Along with those: actually finding someone new
Also: finally realizing that all those little quirks you thought were endearing are actually driving you crazy.
Also also: a slip of the tongue. As Led Zeppelin put it: “One thing I do have on my mind, if you can clarify please do, / It’s the way you call me by another guy’s name when I try to make love to you.”
Or to quote a Miss Manners (Judith Martin) column: “Q: What should one do when one accidentally calls one’s current lover by a former lover’s name? A: Seek a future lover. Such mistakes are easy to make and impossible to undo. Why do you think they invented the term ‘sweetie’?”