‘7-year itch’ cut to just 3 due to stress of modern life

London: Forget the ‘seven-year-itch’, the breaking point for most couples comes after three years, says a new research.

The pressures of modern life means more than ever partners take each other for granted, argue and lose sexual appetite. And many couples are increasingly giving each other a “pass” to pursue their own interests or take solo holidays. “Traits and habits that are often endearing when we first start to see someone can often blow up into major irritations around the three-year mark. How you deal with these niggles will play a key part in whether a relationship survives,” the Daily Express quoted relationship expert Judi James as saying. Judi added: “Often something that may appear trivial such as snoring can become a major stress point but if you can get past these niggles and communicate openly then there is no reason why a couple should not go the distance.” Judi compared long-lasting relationships with short-term ones of less than three years. Long-term couples argue for an average of 2.7 hours every week – nearly six days of conflict a year – more than double the 1.2 hours of newer partners. Judi’s research found that the top 10 passion-killers were their partner’s weight gain, meanness with money, bad hygiene and antisocial working hours. These were followed by the other half’s relatives, lack of romance, drinking too much, snoring, poor dress sense and bad bathroom habits. She found that tensions tend to increase significantly at the 36-month mark. ANI