Relationship Breakup Statistics (2024) – How Common are Breakups?

What percentage of couples break up? How long do breakups last on average? In this article, we will delve into the facts and figures regarding breakups.

Breakups can be a difficult and painful experience for anyone to go through. Whether it’s a long-term relationship or a short-term, ending a romantic partnership can have a significant impact on one’s emotional and mental well-being.

By analyzing the data and statistics surrounding this topic, we can gain a better understanding of the complex nature of relationships and the factors that can contribute to a breakup.

couple breakup statistics

Key Breakup Statistics

  • 70% of straight unmarried couples end their relationship in the first year.
  • 42% of long-distance relationships break up at some time.
  • 58% of Americans believe breakups are messy and dramatic.
  • Women are more likely than males to start a breakup.
  • Most breakups happen on Mondays.
  • 75% of Americans were dumped by their long-term partners.
  • 53% of US couples get back together after a breakup
  • 88% of Americans say it is mandatory to break up in person.
  • It takes almost 3 months (11 weeks) to get over a breakup.
  • 44% of Americans claim to have reunited with their ex-partner after breaking up with them.
  • In America, 20% of people have cheated on their partners.
  • 71% of people claim they still think about their ex-partner a lot.
  • Many breakups happen on Christmas, April Fools, and Valentine’s day.
  • For a couple that has been together for 10 years, only a 14.9% chance of breaking up remains.
  • 2 years and 9 months is the average length of a relationship before a breakup.
  • 37% of Americans cut all contact with their ex after a breakup.
  • 28% of Americans think it neither benefits nor hurts to remain in contact with their ex after break up.

What Percentage of Couples Break Up?

70% of unmarried couples break up in the first year of the relationship. However, the percentage keeps reducing as the years pass by. At the 10-year mark, the percentage of breaking up is just 14.9%.

Moreover, people in a same-sex unmarried relationship have a 76% breakup chance in the 1st year. Likewise straight couples, their breakup percentage also reduces with time.

Here’s a breakdown of the relationship breakup statistics percentage.

  • 76% of Same-sex unmarried couples have the highest chance of breakup in the first year.
  • 70% of Straight unmarried couples have a chance of breakup in the first year.
  • After 10 years, the chance of straight couples breaking up reduces to 14.9% and for same-sex couples, it becomes 10%.
  • 5% of Straight-married couples have the chance of breaking up in the first year which is the lowest.
  • 64% of Americans have experienced a breakup in a long-term relationship.
  • 42% of long-distance relationships break up.

How Many Breakups Does the Average Person Have?

On average women would have 7 and men would have 8 relationships before finding “the one”. This means 7 and 8 breakups, respectively. However, you don’t need to have this many relationships before settling down.

Moreover, the number of breakups also varies according to region, culture, family background, and more.

Anyway, the following is what the breakup stats show.

  • A woman has 7 breakups on average.
  • Men have 8 breakups on average.
  • Both men and women have 2 heartbreaks on average.
  • Both men and women cheat one time and get cheated on one time.
  • Women have 7 and men have 8 breakups on average.

What years are breakups most common?

Breakups are most likely to happen in the first year of the relationship. In fact, 70% of the relationships of straight unmarried couples end in the first year. Same-sex unmarried couples have a higher chance of the same happening.

Here’s a breakdown of years when the breakup is most and least likely to happen.

For straight unmarried Couples:

Years% of Breakups
170
252
334
428
520
618
717
816
915

For same-sex unmarried couples:

Years% of Breakups
10.76
20.61
30.42
40.28
50.21
60.18
70.15
80.12
90.1
100.1

For straight married couples:

Years% Of Breakups
1-85
9-1010

For same-sex married couples:

Years% of Breakups
1-5No data available
69
78
87
97
106

Why do couples break up after 10 years? There are various reasons. 64% of Americans have had a long-term relationship break up. People break up after a long relationship because of money problems, bad communication, cheating, no compromise, or other unresolved issues.

How Long Do Breakups Last on Average?

Many split-up couples reconcile after some time has passed according to breakup statistics. Here, the degree and cause of the breakup are important factors. For instance, a breakup due to infidelity takes longer to heal than one brought on by poor communication or other reasons.

How Long Do Most Relationships Last Before Breaking Up?

On average, a relationship would last for 2 years and 9 months. Young couples tend to break up more often than those in their late 30s and above. Moreover, people over 55 are the least likely to break up.

Following is the average length of a relationship before a breakup.

  • Relationships last 2 years and 9 months on average.
  • For the age group 18-34, relationships last 3 months on average.
  • For the age group 35-54, relationships last 4 years and 2 months on average.
  • For people aged 55+, relationships last 11 years and 10 months on average.

How Long Does it Take to Get Over a Breakup?

It takes close to 3 months to get over a breakup. Be that as it may, this can also vary for different people. Some might take more time in healing and a few would take even less.

While it takes 11 weeks to get over a breakup, the time to get over a divorce is much more. An average person takes 17 months and 26 days to recover from a marriage separation i.e. divorce.

Who is More Likely to End a Relationship?

Women are more likely to end a relationship than men. Here are a few statistics related to the topic:.

  • 76% of women said they have broken up a relationship.
  • 62% of men have ended a relationship with a women.
  • Only 17% of women said they have never broken up in a relationship.
  • 33% of men have said they have never broken up in a relationship.
  • 67% of women had a former partner breaking up with them.
  • 30% of men had a former partner breaking up with them.
  • 30% of women were never broken up with in comparison to 12% of men.

Who Gets Over a Relationship Quicker?

Men tend to get over a relationship quicker according to multiple researches. The study by Binghamton University indicates that women feel more emotional and physical pain post-breakup. The reasons that were put forward for this were biological and evolutionary.

Both men and women rated their emotional and physical pain on a scale of 10 and following are the breakup statistics results.

  • Women averaged 6.84 and men 6.58 for emotional pain after a breakup.
  • Women averaged 4.21 and men 3.75 for physical pain after a breakup.

The research involved 5,705 participants from 96 countries.

What is the Most Common Date to Break up?

Surprisingly, breakups are very common on Valentine’s day. If there’s any misconception that no one gets heartbroken on the 13th of February then you are wrong.

  • There’s a high chance of breakups happening on Valentine’s day, April Fool’s Day, and Christmas Day (also the two weeks prior to it).
  • Most breakups happen on Mondays.
  • Breakups are more likely to take place during spring and summer holidays.

What is the Most Socially Acceptable Way to Breakup?

Even after all the advancements in technology and the rise of social media, breaking up in person remains the most socially acceptable way. According to researchers, here are the ways people think are the best to inform someone about a breakup.

  • 88% of Americans believe the most socially acceptable way to break up is by meeting in person.
  • 51% of Americans also say it is okay to break up over the phone.
  • 14% of Americans accept breaking up through text message, email, or private message on a social media site.

How Many Couples Get Back Together?

As many as 44% of Americans have returned to their ex at some point after breaking up. A huge chunk of people has done it more than once while the majority have done it only once.

Furthermore, Millennials and Generation X‘ers are more probable of getting back to their ex than other generations.

Here’s what the breakup statistics show.

  • 21% of Americans have gotten back to their ex more than once.
  • 23% of Americans have gotten back to their ex once.
  • 47% of people never got back to their ex.
  • 24% of Millenials and 25% of Generation X’ers have gotten back to their ex-partner more than once. While 24% of people from both generations got back to their ex only once.
  • Only 12% and 15% of people from Gen Z got back to their ex more than once or once, respectively.
  • 16% of Baby Boomers have gotten back together more than once and 21% of them have done it once.

How Many Couples Don’t Get Back Together After Breakup?

More people are not likely to get back to their ex-partners after a breakup. Of all the generations, couples from the Baby Boomers were the majority to not go back together after a breakup.

  • 59% of Baby Boomers don’t go back together to their ex.
  • 45% of Generation X’ers never got back to their ex.
  • 37% and 36% of people from Millennials and Generation Z don’t get back to their ex.
  • 47% of US couples don’t go back together after a breakup.

What Percentage of Breakups Are Due to Cheating?

Many breakups happen due to cheating and infidelity. Some people also admit their cheating in front of their partners while some tell their new partners about their previous infidelities.

The following breakup statistics show the percentage of breakups due to cheating.

  • 85% of American relationships break up after someone admits to cheating.
  • 20% of Americans cheated on their partner at some point.
  • 34% of Americans thought about cheating while in a relationship.
  • 47% of Americans who cheat in a relationship admit it within one week in front of their partners.
  • 76% of Americans told their partners about their old infidelities.

What Happens After a Breakup?

People fancy cutting all contact with their ex after a breakup. However, several people do remain in contact with their ex. People aged 18-29 are more likely to shut down all relations after a breakup.

Here’s what breakup statistics show.

  • 37% of people cut all contact with their ex.
  • 40% of people remain in contact with their ex after a breakup.
  • 54% of people aged 18-29 cut all contact with their ex after a breakup.
  • 18% of people believe it’s very harmful to remain in contact with your ex after a breakup.
  • 3% of people believe it is much more beneficial to remain in contact with your ex.
  • 28% of people think it doesn’t hurt nor helps to remain in contact with your ex post-breakup.


Sources

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