How to Know your Partner Wants to End the Relationship

Sometimes despite your best efforts, a man or a woman may not respond to a relationship with the level of warmth and commitment that you hope for. Some may prefer to be upfront and tell you they are no longer happy with you. Others though, prefer to leave clues, hoping that you’ll get the hint but prepare for an amicable breakup. If you have been getting the following signs from your partner, it may be time to consider the fact that he/she wants to end the relationship.

He/she does not call

For couples who have still not moved in together or not entered a serious relationship, not getting a call is one of the earliest signs that your partner wants to move away. So if you have been waiting over a week now for him to call you after your last date, chance are that he/she is not very keen to see you again. Agreed, your partner could have been busy or over-committed at work but still a text message or a quick call during lunch-break would never have been beyond the scope of the possible. What’s more, if you have called him/her only to get his voicemail or were asked by a flat-mate/friend/sibling to leave a message, chances are he/she is avoiding you.

TIP: Read the guide to prevent a break up or get back with your ex.

He/she is busy all the time

Remember the early days of your relationship when you simply couldn’t be away from each other – whether enjoying common interests or simply mooning at each other, you both were ready to cancel other appointments to be together. In contrast to that, if your partner now seems busy all the time, it could be a sign that he/she no longer finds you interesting and wants to opt out. While it is natural that over time each partner finds his or her own niche in the relationship, it is unusual for the spouses to give up all shared interests or never seem to have time to spend romantic moments together. When you find yourself becoming less and less of a time priority, even if the reasons for your partner being busy seem logical, consider it as a warning sign on the health of your relationship.

He/she is too secretive

If your man closes his Gmail or chat the second you walk into the room or if she appears evasive when you ask her about her plans for the weekend, chances are that your partner is trying to cut him/herself loose from you. Sometimes a man or woman may be a private person but if such stealthy ways persist, and especially if they try to pass off this kind of behavior as normal, it may reveal a lack of mutual trust, without which a relationship is well nigh impossible.

You no longer figure in his/her plans

When talking about his future, does your partner merely discuss her goals of opening a bakery someday and are his dreams limited to retiring by the sea with his very own beach house and luxury boat? If this is especially true after having discussed shared goals or dreams as a couple in the past, then this is a clear indication that you are no longer included in your partner’s future plans. Yet another form that this behavior may take is reluctance to making advance plans with you. When it comes to his/her friends, your partner seems to have no problem committing to plans well into the future like, to a short weekend trip or a football match a fortnight away. However when it comes to you, he/she won’t commit until the last minute. The fact that your partner is so wishy-washy about his/her plans with you, is an almost certain sign that he/she is thinking of moving on.

You are the last to know

 When a long term relationship disintegrates, it is strongly characterized by an increasingly widening communication gap between partners. In such a situation, your partner will stop sharing information about his or her social and professional lives with you. You will find out about your partner’s achievements at work or problems with family members from second or third-hand sources like your partner’s co-worker or neighbors of your partner’s parental home. Other examples of absence of communication would be long spells of silence in the house. You may be living under the same roof with you and your partner performing routine errands, but still have nothing to say to each other. However do not confuse this with the companionable silence that couples share in a long, satisfied relationship. There it is a case of two people knowing each other so well as to be comfortable in their silence and not having the need to make small talk. But in case of a disintegrating relationship, the silence makes for an arid, loveless atmosphere where two people have nothing to share anymore.

He/she no longer has anything nice to say to you

Even when your partner does talk to you, it is rarely about something nice. One of the unmistakable signs of an impending breakup is that partners begin to funnel larger relationship issues into criticism of day-to-day tasks. If you find you can do no right in your partner’s eyes and he/she is perpetually ticking you off, it is a sure sign that things are getting unbearable for your partner. Other indications of this nature would be long, pointless fights where you keep arguing about the same issues in the same way without going anywhere near a resolution.

The love is gone

Even when you are not fighting, if your partner is showing less and less of affection in terms of physical gestures, it is a strong indication that he/she would like to opt out. Physical Intimacy is the act that allows a man and woman to bond as a couple. While the absence of sex in a committed relationship like marriage is considered a big red flag, counselors will tell you that the first signs of trouble crop up long before. Be warned if you find that your partner has stopped snuggling up to you no longer gives you a passionate kiss before leaving for work. This is because a growing physical distance between partners is intrinsically related to a widening emotional gap and it could be only a matter of days before your partner announces that he/she is leaving.