A TikToker in a six-year relationship has spilled the beans on how she’s arrived at such a milestone. Was it witchcraft? No. Apparently, it all had to do with her awareness of the so-called “five stages of relationship”.
The creator behind the video goes by @HannaGetsTired on TikTok. She starts off the video with the following sizzler of a quote which is so provocative I could write a separate article about it:
“Can we normalise wanting to break up with your partner in a long-term relationship?” as though she’s never given so much as a single fuck in her entire life.
Lots to unpack. Let’s run the tape.
@hannagetshired Let me tell you we went through every single one of these stages like clockwork #longtermrelationship #relationship #stagesofarelationship #stagesoflove #relationshipgoals #relationshipadvice #marriagefamilytherapy #greenscreen
“We’ve been together [Hanna and her partner Roco] for over six years … which means we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs.”
Hanna goes on to describe a bumpy period that occurred two years into her relationship. During this time she was deadset convinced things were going kaput.
Thankfully, her marriage therapist bestie opened her eyes to the five stages of relationships theory.
So without further ado, let’s get crackin’.
The first is the honeymoon phase (hey, I know that one already!) which lasts “about six months” according to Hanna.
Second, we have the “differences” phase.
This lasts from about the six-month to two-year mark which is when some of the honeymoon euphoria “starts to wear off”.
“Conflict starts to emerge. You start to see your partner as a real person and people have flaws,” Hanna adds.
Shock horror! But also true.
Third is the “struggle” stage where Hanna believes her own relo ran into trouble.
The struggle stage happens at approximately the two-year point.
According to Hanna, it’s typified by “deeper-seated issues and incompatibilities arise. [It’s] centred around this idea of the partnership starting to pull apart.
“Partners [are] becoming resentful of each other for taking away their individuality and wanting to invest more time outside of the partnership.”
Yeah, I can definitely see how this would be the stage that ends up killing a relo.
If you don’t take the time to zoom out and view the bigger picture, it’s easy to see how you’d jump to the quick-fix conclusion that is breaking things off completely.
Stage four is the “repair” stage between the two and five-year mark which, I’ll be honest, is pretty self-explanatory.
Last but not least we have the fifth stage, “enduring love” that symbolises the breakthrough of making it past the repair stage.
“It really feels like falling in love again,” Hanna says as she ends the video.
So there you have it.
We’ve lived. We’ve laughed. Maybe we’ve even loved?
If you’re keen for more spicy relo content, suss out PEDESTRIAN.TV’s Sex + Dating section.
Go on then, you horny hornbags.
