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Life

18th Mar 2017

The major indication that your relationship is over (and it’s not what you think)

If you notice this, it might be time to reevaluate.

Cathy Donohue

We tend to think that arguing is a bad sign for a relationship but in reality, the problem goes much deeper than this.

Obviously, constant fighting takes its toll on a couple but there are other glaring signs that suggest things might be coming to an end.

According to research entitled, Stages of Change in Relationship Status Questionnaire: Development and Validation, there are a few stages that signify the end of a union between two people.

The study, published in the Journal of College Consulting explains each stage in detail and you can check out in full here.

As outlined on My Domaine, the first stage is named pre-contemplation, and the best way of describing this is, the stage before sh*t hits the fan.

Then comes contemplation where you begin to think about breaking up, followed by preparation when you’re thinking about how you might broach the painful subject.

Of course, every relationship is different and no two couples follow the same pattern but this research confirms that not everyone fights incessantly in the lead up to a breakup.

Sometimes, it’s a lot more complicated than that.