If you’ve ever stressed about breaking up with your partner before Christmas, then we have news for you: you’re not alone. In fact, December 11 is the most common day of the year for couples to split, according to data experts, and the reason is both blindingly obvious and a little bit brutal. We’ve even got a name for this phenomenon: Breakup Day.
December, aside from being an expensive time even before the cost of living crisis, also sees puts a lot of pressure put on relationships.
After analysing statuses and posts about breakups on Facebook (back when that was the primary social media and we actually used online relationship statuses), data experts from Information is Beautiful found that breakups tend to spike two weeks before Christmas (so, on December 11).
It’s a pretty funny stat given that people leave their breakups to the absolute last minute, with a deadline of two weeks before Christmas — anything after that would be too close to the holiday and potentially could be too cruel, ruining celebrations for either party.
Unsurprisingly, breakups on Christmas Day drop super dramatically. No one wants to be that villainous.
Experts have suggested further reasoning as to why breakups spike in December — possibly, it’s not only about convenience and strategic breakup maths. Maybe we’re self-reflecting more, too.
Why are people more likely to breakup on December 11?
“We tend to use Christmas and the promise of a fresh start in the New Year as a time to reflect, so it is not surprising that there is a spike in breakups around this time,” mused Chantelle Otten, Bumble’s resident sexologist.
“For anyone not 100% happy in their relationship, it can force them to address feelings of discontent and make a decision on whether they want to stay and work on it, or officially split up.”
Tinder’s spokesperson Kirsty Dunn agreed and told PEDESTRIAN.TV that people might choose to end their relationship two weeks before Christmas to “help avoid any awkward family interactions on Christmas Day” so folks can “spend this time of year with the people who truly matter.”
Yep, nothing like meeting someone’s partner at family Christmas and then immediately knowing things aren’t gonna last. Can’t blame anyone for trying to avoid the gossip train.
Does modern dating app data validate Breakup Day?
The Breakup Day study results are actually from 2008, and dating has changed a lot since then — for starters, we have apps for that now.
Tinder actually has its own data relating to a spike in activity for online daters, which, when compared to the Breakup Day data, is pretty compelling.
“On Tinder we see that the biggest day for activity is not long after Breakup Day and actually falls on the first Sunday of every year — coined ‘Dating Sunday’ (Jan 7 2024),” Dunn told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“Dating Sunday is prime time for singletons to hit Tinder on their quest for love and connections, having spent the holidays self-reflecting and armed with their New Year’s resolutions and goals.
“In fact, in January 2022, Dating Sunday saw 12 Tinder bios per second being edited and 25 new photos added every two seconds, on average across the globe.”
Well, would ya look at that. Three weeks after Breakup Day — one week after Christmas — dating app activity spikes. Is this because people who became newly single from Breakup day are finally home after Christmas festivities and on the hunt for a new squeeze?
I reckon so.
You know what that means, single gals, guys, gays and theys — if you want to shoot your shot, better do it on Sunday 7 January. May the odds be ever in your favour!
