Doing these things may lead your partner to break up with you

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

IF YOU CLAP WHEN PLANES LAND, YOUR PARTNER MIGHT BREAK UP WITH YOU, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY.

DATING SITE SEEKING AND ONEPOLL ASKED 2,000 ADULTS ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP TURN OFFS OR “ICKS.”

RESULTS SHOW YOU’RE AT RISK OF BEING DUMPED IF YOU HAVE DIRTY FINGERNAILS, ARE RUDE TO WAITERS, OR ARE TOO CLINGY.

A MAJORITY (88%) HAVE GHOSTED SOMEONE COMPLETELY BECAUSE OF A TRAIT THAT TURNED THEM OFF.

ONE IN EIGHT MEN (14%) WOULD HAPPILY BREAK IT OFF WITH SOMEONE WHO WANTED TO SHARE FOOD ON A FIRST DATE.

AND 15% OF WOMEN JUDGE A PARTNER FOR SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM AS IF THEY WERE ACTUALLY ON THE TEAM.

THE TOP TURN OFF FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN IS SMELLING BAD.

TOP 40 THINGS THAT GIVE ADULTS THE ‘ICK’

Smelling bad

Pretending to be more knowledgeable about something than they actually are

Being rude to a waiter

Living in a mess

Being overbearing and rude

Having dirty fingernails

Being too clingy

Having bad teeth

Double texting (sending a secondary text if you’ve not responded after the first one)

Talking too loudly

Chewing with their mouth open

Oversharing on social media

Having long fingernails

Referring to themselves in third person

Still living at home

Not wearing socks with shoes

Having shoes that are too dirty

Putting on a baby voice

Breathing heavily

Having a bad tattoo

Eating and talking at the same time

Being obsessed with their star signs 

Wearing a tacky watch

Wearing shoes you don’t like

Wearing too much makeup

Wanting to share food on the first date

Not paying on the first date

Clapping when an airplane lands

Talking longer than you to get ready

Referring to their football team as ‘we’

Wearing bad jeans

Having an Instagram account for their pet

Saying pet names like ‘honey’ or ‘baby’

Using emojis in texts

Not being able to drive

Wearing a weird colored lipstick

Wearing sunglasses indoors

Having too many shirt buttons undone

Wearing creased clothes

Wearing socks to bed

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 single or actively dating Americans was commissioned by Seeking between November 18, and November 28, 2022. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).