--- description: It comes down to one simple but powerful word. title: How You Can Tell Your Relationship Is Over, According to Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56aa91d7f90872d/69886757cd1bba3f5c6fd8ad/broken-heart-small.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How You Can Tell Your Relationship Is Over, According to Research by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2015 4:01 AM CUT  Broken heart Broken heartGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 8, 2015 4:01 AM CUT You share complaints that don’t contain the word “but.” Unqualified complaints were more common in relationships that weren’t going well. Via [59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307474860/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0307474860 "undefined"): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/what-kind-of-complaints-signal-the-end-of-a-r/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 215,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/ "undefined") [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/"},"headline":"How You Can Tell Your Relationship Is Over, According to Research","datePublished":"2015-10-08T04:01:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:46:17.972Z","description":"It comes down to one simple but powerful word.","url":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/","keywords":["Psychology","relationships","Love & Relationships"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56aa91d7f90872d/69886757cd1bba3f5c6fd8ad/broken-heart-small.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf56aa91d7f90872d/69886757cd1bba3f5c6fd8ad/broken-heart-small.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"broken-heart-small","caption":"broken-heart-small","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/","name":"How You Can Tell Your Relationship Is Over, According to Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage","description":"Robin Rinaldi did what many women dream of but few actually do: she took a year off from her marriage, made an agreement with her husband that they would both sleep with other people for a set period of time, and threw caution to the wind.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/B3QCkNPd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-01T13:42:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B3QCkNPd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/","duration":"PT3M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4065296/relationship-problems/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```