If you’re living with a long-term partner, it can make a breakup even more painful. It also costs a lot more than you might think.
UK Storage Company quizzed over 1,500 British people who had separated from a live-in partner during the past five years. Their research found that it took participants an average of eight months to breakup and leave an unhappy relationship.
67 per cent of Brits who had left a long-term partner in the past five years knew they were going to breakup eight months before actually doing it.
The main reason was so that they could be in a better position to leave, which made up 52 per cent of those surveyed. However, 31 per cent of people wanted to give the relationship one last chance before actually calling it quits.
Among those who wanted to be in a better position to leave, 66 per cent of those surveyed said they needed time to save up and afford to move out of the shared home.
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46 per cent said they wanted to find suitable new living arrangements, and 41 per cent said they needed to purchase household items ready to start over again. Others felt the need to seek legal action where necessary, making up 35 per cent.
25 per cent of people opened a secret bank account hidden from their partner so they could move out quicker. On average, people saved £3,200 before moving out of their shared home.
One in six (17 per cent) said that they had a separate storage space, whether that was a friend’s house or a paid-for storage unit, to keep items they’d need to move out with.
Finally, a whopping 90 per cent of those surveyed had shared their plans to leave with others, whether it was a colleague, a friend, or family members.
John Lamb, Commercial Manager for UK Storage Company, commented on the findings, “Making the decision to leave a long-term relationship is never an easy decision, but it comes with many more complications than a typical breakup as you’re likely to be sharing a home, possessions and more – some may share a vehicle, there might be kids or animals involved and so on.
"It’s not healthy for someone to sit on repressed feelings about their significant other for months on end, but it is important to be in a good financial position when you do decide to leave, as costs that were previously shared between two will now all fall on each.”