Three common tactics people use when they’re planning to break up with you

Even if you think your relationship is going well, keep an eye out for these tactics most people use when they’re trying to call it quits.

A recent study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences shared strategies people often use when breaking up with someone.

Reportedly, breakups are harder for men than women. But regardless of who’s ending things, there are three common ways people go about it, according to the study.

“Most people will experience the end of an intimate relationship (usually several times), with either themselves or their partners initiating it,” study author Menelaos Apostolou, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Nicosia, said according to Psy Post.

“Because this phenomenon is relatively common and painful, I was motivated to ask how people actually do so, which the current research aimed to address.”

There were 228 participants in the study — both men and women in their early 30s — who were asked to envision themselves in a relationship they weren’t happy in and then write down how they would go about ending it.

Another 228 participants were instructed to look at 45 different ways of breaking up with someone and figure out how likely they would use any of the methods.

Maybe he should have taken the hint. Photo: istock

Softening the blow

Based on the responses researchers received from the hundreds of participants, the most popular method to break things off with someone (86 per cent) is the “softening the blow” tactic.

Common examples of this method are trying not to blame the other person and taking responsibility for some of the wrongdoing in the relationship.

Taking a break

Another common way people say “thank you, next” to their partners is by suggesting a break.

Twenty-four per cent of the young adults said that taking a break is the best option.

Although many couples don’t come back from a period of being apart, people argued it’s an opportunity for both individuals to evaluate the relationship separately to decide if they want to continue dating or not.

Avoiding confrontation

And the third commonly used break-up method is avoiding confrontation — aka ghosting.

Sixteen per cent of people would rather not say anything at all and instead slowly drift away from their partner — leaving the other person confused and heartbroken, wondering what went wrong.

Ghosting is one of the big three ways to break up with someone. Photo: istock

The group who prefer to ghost their significant others are probably the same people who would consider using AI to end a relationship.

According to a survey by dating assistant Wingmate, 41 per cent of people use bots to break things off with someone. And reportedly, women are more guilty of this than men.

Nearly half of 18 to 29-year-olds find that it’s easier to ask someone else — Chat GPT, that is — to do the dirty work for them.

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Three common tactics people use when they’re planning to break up with you