Are Relationships Cursed During The Holidays?
By Yelena Shuster
This week has seen a whirlwind of celebrity breakups. In the span of two days, Dexter stars Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter called quits on their two-year marriage, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens ended their 3-year High School romance, and Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds announced their divorce.
Related: Why Love Is Harder In The Winter
At first we wondered if there some kind of strange breakup trend going around in Hollywood. Then, we realized: all of these splits happened right before the holidays. As we reported earlier, couples are most likely to break up in the days leading up to Christmas and New Year's.
Related: How to Have a Boyfriend by the Holidays
This makes intuitive sense: If you know your relationship is going downhill, why not end things before the added stress that comes with the holidays?
And relationship experts agree. "A lot of breakups do happen over the holidays," says marriage and family therapist Terri Orbuch, PhD, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan. "Pretending that everything is great and being a couple in front of family and friends is not beneficial for you or your partner. It's difficult pretending to be in love."
Related: Gifts That Will Make Him Love You More
Not sure if your relationship can stand to the test? See what our experts say to make your love life survive the season. And to find out more reasons for these recent breakups, check out What Happened to Hollywood's Sexiest It Couple.
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