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What kind of breaks ups have Britons had?
Six in ten Britons who have had a relationship that ended (63%) have been the one who had to take it upon themselves to break up with their partner. Women are more likely to have played this role than men (68% vs 57%).
A similar number (66%) say they have been dumped by a partner before, with men more likely to have been on the receiving end of a break up than women (70% vs 62%).
Mutual break ups are less common, with 46% of Britons with past relationships saying that this has occurred at least once. Men are more likely to say they have been in a break up where both partners agreed it was right for the relationship to end.
How hard do Britons find recognising they need to break up, actually breaking up, and getting over a break up?
Recognising that you need to break up with someone in the first place is difficult for 46% of Britons who have ever been in a relationship that ended, although 31% say they find it easy to tell that a relationship has run its course and needs to end.
By contrast, actually doing the deed is much harder – 77% of Britons who have been in a relationship that ended say the act of breaking up with someone is difficult. One in twelve Britons (8%) say they find it easy to break up with someone, while a further 11% say it is neither easy nor difficult.
When it comes to getting over a break up, the large majority of people (70%) find this difficult, although again, 9% say they are able to bounce back easily.
Those who say they have previously been the one in the relationship who got broken up with are more likely to say they find getting over a break up difficult (78%) than those who have never been on the receiving end of a dumping (58%).
How many Britons are friends with an ex?
Just over a quarter of Britons (28%) who have had a relationship that ended say they are still friends with any of their ex-partners, with those under the age of 40 slightly less likely to say so (20-21%).
How comfortable would Britons feel with a partner still being friends with their ex?
Britons aren’t the most enormous fans of a partner staying friends with an ex. Only 8% say they would be “very comfortable” with the prospect, with a further 28% giving the more qualified “fairly comfortable” response.
Half of people (50%) say they would be uncomfortable with a partner being friends with their ex, including 17% for whom this would make them “very uncomfortable”.
Men are more likely than women to be comfortable with their partner being friends with an ex, at 41% to 31%.
How soon is it acceptable to start dating again after a break up?
The speed with which someone can get back in the dating game after a break up depends on how long their previous relationship had been, and who did the breaking up.
For instance, in the case of a relationship that had lasted less than a year, 27% of people say you can start dating again straight away if your partner dumped you, falling to 22% if you did the dumping.
In cases where the relationship had been longer than 5 years, 19% think you can get right back on the horse if they broke up with you, dropping to 14% if you broke up with them.
Regardless of who did the dumping, half of Britons (47-48%) feel you’re ok to start dating again within one month if your prior relationship had lasted less than a year, rising to 59% who say it would be ok within two months.
Timelines are extended in the aftermath of longer relationships. Only 26-30% think it would be acceptable to be back on the market within a month if your prior relationship had lasted for more than five years. Only at the ‘within six months’ mark do we find a majority of Britons feeling enough time has passed to start dating again (64% in either scenario).
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Photo: Getty