Does Your Relationship Have An Expiry Date?

How often have you heard a person say “I never saw it coming.”

Relationships don’t suddenly end.

One or both people in the relationship will notice things are not quite right between them. They may think they’re both just going through a rough patch.

But chances are one person will feel resentment towards their partner because of something the other person did or didn’t do as far back as a number of years before or as recently as a few months, weeks or even days before.

The resentment is built up because the wounded party didn’t feel emotionally safe to talk about it with their partner or because when they did they didn’t feel heard.

When one person in the relationship begins to pull away there are signs pointing towards an exit for them.

They stop relying on their partner for support.

They speak in terms of “I” instead of “Us” or “We”.

They begin to do things on their own and turn down dinner invitations with their partner or stop including them in social events. The reason for this is because they have decided if they leave they will be doing things on their own any way so they need to adjust to being single again.

The wounded party may stop considering their partner and become formal towards them in their communication with them.

When one person has “checked out” of the relationship they may begin to pull away emotionally and physically or they may continue with emotional and physical intimacy until they have their plans set in place to leave such as new accommodation, finances in order and even employment. In every way they are working towards their independence, a future without their partner.