You and your S.O might have shared a little New Year’s kiss when the clock struck midnight, but it might not have been as magical as it’s supposed to be.
I know, I know, I’m coming across as the real relationship-hater Debbie Downer here, but there could be rocky times ahead.
Sure, you’ve got through the madness of Christmas and the holidays, but with more time on your hands this month, the tension might start to build.
Now cuffing season is well and truly over, we’re entering the time when breakups are said to come in thick and fast with divorces said to peak. So, experts have explained why your relationship may come to an end this month. Sorry.
Although, it is worth saying if your relationship isn’t good to the point that you might be splitting, then it’s not necessarily always good to keep it in your life.
In some cases, it might be that your partner didn’t want to cause a messy breakup over Christmas time, so decided to wait until it was all cleared up to pull the plug. But it could also be that the festive period was so stressful, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back on your time together.
Psychologist Dr Karen Philip explained to The Carousel: “December is a very high stress month. Money is often tight, as we try to gather our finances to purchase required presents.”
Dating coach Jacob Lucas also said to The Independent: “Tensions start building up and building up, before they explode a little bit, like a pressure cooker. Then it goes to the point of: ‘I’ve had enough of this, it’s been too much’.”
And as we start making plans for the year, we might look at what we need to ‘change to achieve’ any goals – i.e. you might think you need to bin off your partner to move forward. Ouch.
It’s even the case for married couples, with Michelle Smith, a divorce financial analyst, telling New York Daily News: “Divorce can often be on the New Year’s resolution list. You think, ‘What do I want from my life this year? I don’t want to be unhappy anymore’.”
To prevent a breakup while times get tough, you and your partner might try out therapy to make yourselves stronger with therapist seeing an increase in couples seeking services.
Lindsay George, BACP therapist, said: “There’s something about January and not wanting to go into another year feeling like this in a relationship that brings people to re-evaluate their situation and seek additional support.”
Well lads, if you relationship does come to an end this month, I’m sorry but perhaps it’s better that way – who wants to waste the start of the year being unhappy?