Most people are going to have a few relationships over the course of their life as most of the time they don’t end up in everlasting love.
People can be happy together for a long time and then something drastically changes in one moment or the deterioration can be more gradual.
There are many reasons that people stay in these relationships far longer than they probably should, and they can come as a result of many different types of changes in a relationship.
Toxic relationships can be hugely harmful to both parties but do exist for many different reasons.
1. Making a lot of money
If you’re looking for a romantic and emotionally fulfilling relationship, then that should be the only goal for being with someone.
Wealth and material possessions shouldn’t come into your feelings about someone. This means that if you are honest with yourself and think about why you are with someone if money is the top reason the perhaps it’s time to leave.
2. Friendship groups
Dating between people within the same friendship group is very common given the level of intimacy between close friends and the amount of time that they spend together.
This can, however, cause problems if the relationship doesn’t feel like it’s working and can make some people reluctant to end the relationship for fear of splitting loyalties amongst their group of close friends.
3. Nobody else will love you
After being in a very long term relationship, it can be hard for many people to believe that someone else would love them in the same way as their partner.
This can result in people sticking with what they know for fear of never finding someone else who loves them with the same depth as their current partner.
Is a paralyzing fear for many and can last for a long time if you don’t start to focus on your best qualities that someone else could love.
4. Easy
As a relationship progresses, it becomes easier to be around that other person than to not be around them, even if the relationship isn’t going particularly well.
This means that people are liable to stay in relationships simply because it’s easier to and not to have to go through the process of breaking up and having to rebuild that part of your life.
5. Don’t want to hurt them
Ending a relationship is going to hurt, even a bad one. Both parties are likely to feel damaged by the ending and are therefore people often refrain from ending relationships that they want to only because they want to avoid hurting their partner.
This is a very selfless way to look at a relationship, however, in the long run, the period of hurt is likely to leave both parties with better chances of happiness.
6. Staying together for the kids
Many people who are in long term couples find themselves wanting to break up but never truly addressing this because they have kids.
They instead choose to stay together to give their children the best possible chance of a traditional, stable upbringing and the best chance of having a happy childhood; without having their life divided up between their parents.
7. Make them happy
Some people are naturally very selfless in relationships and will, therefore, sustain a partnership they are not fully emotionally invested in simply to keep the other person in that relationship happy.
This type of selflessness is rare but does force some to stay in romantic relationships that they would otherwise want to leave
8. They owe you a debt
Some relationships involve some untraditional aspects. One of these is a partner lending money to another partner and therefore being owed a debt.
Sometimes the lender is left wanting to end the relationship but being unable to for fear of not receiving payment of their debt. In most of these situations, there is no formal contract, and it is therefore probable that if the relationship ends that the lender won’t receive their money.
9. They’re loyal
Being with someone simply because you like or admire one aspect of their personality is unlikely to provide a truly meaningful relationship.
Just because you believe the person you’re with is loyal to you doesn’t mean that it’s best to stay with them even if you don’t want to, this is likely to leave a dry and poor relationship.
10. Comfortable
Comfort is a difficult thing to sacrifice when you have found it. Many people are satisfied in their relationship to simply be content with it and not risk it and look for something that may be more fulfilling.
This aspect of comfort is very hard to leave for many people, and they often stay far longer than they would have liked simply because they felt so comfortable with and around the person they were with.
11. You like their family
Meeting someone’s family is a pivotal moment in any relationship, and in many cases, this will end in a great relationship between you and your partner’s family.
However strong this bond may be, it’s unlikely to be worth staying in a bad relationship for. Many people don’t want to hurt the family of the person they are looking to break up with even though, in reality, they shouldn’t have that level of control in a relationship.
12. Don’t want to admit failure
Stubbornness is a quality that a lot of people possess in abundance and can often put people off from ending a relationship even when they feel they should. The failure to admit defeat and grit to try and work through a toxic relationship probably isn’t healthy in most cases and often ends up in a bad break up somewhere along the line.
13. Embarrassing
Similar to stubbornness, embarrassment at the ending of a relationship is something that a lot of people feel and can be extremely off-putting. This feeling of failure is something that many people experience a lot and can be extremely embarrassing for those who don’t want people to see them as a failure of person, simply because they have ended a relationship.
14. Divorcing is too expensive
When it comes to ending a marriage, divorce is the most common way to do this. However this option can be very expensive and end up involving many other parties, such as attorneys, who charge a lot for their services. Many people simply choose not to split up because the cost of getting a divorce is so high.
15. Splitting up assets
Like a divorce, splitting up assets can be very difficult for a couple who have been together for a long time and bought many of the items they own collectively. Some people don’t want to ask for a break up as they will have to divide up all of the assets that they share together which would make the event hugely complicated in a huge number of ways.
16. Guilt
If the person you want to break up with still feels committed to the relationship then ending it could potentially make you feel very guilty as it will hurt them a lot more than it will you. This guilt is oddly noble and is often enough to provoke people to stay in a romantic relationship that they don’t want to be in.
17. Scared of loneliness
People are not made to be alone and naturally want to find connections with people. When in a romantic relationship, even if it’s a stale one, can still feel like enough to stave of the natural fear of being alone. People can feel secure in a relationship knowing that someone will be there for them and they won’t have to be alone when confronting the problems they face in their life.
18. Feel like you won’t get hurt
Being with someone you may not love anymore but still trust enough not to hurt you can be very strong for people who may be particularly vulnerable to being hurt or emotionally manipulated. If you are with someone who you feel would never hurt you then there is going to be natural incentive to want to stay with them to protect yourself.
19. Too much stress
Breaking up is a very stressful event and can cause people to have very severe reactions even if they were the one to end the partnership. Having to deal with the stress of ending a relationship can cause people to stay with it and put off ending it.
20. Hope it will get better
People are mostly naturally hopeful that their negative situations will eventually turn around and become more positive. The same is true of relationships and people often stay with someone they don’t have strong feelings for in the hope that it will improve in the future.
21. Afraid you won’t find someone better
Similar to being content in a relationship, being afraid that you won’t find someone better even if the person you are with isn’t completely fulfilling for you. There’s always the temptation for people to only notice the positives in something when it’s about to end, meaning that as people work up to leaving someone, they may become afraid that others won’t be any better.
22. Your family likes them
As great as it is to have a partner who your family likes, it shouldn’t factor into a decision about whether or not to end the relationship. Lots of people seem to stay together simply because their family like the person they’re with.
23. Because they apologise
There are many things that someone can do in a relationship to permanently damage the trust between you. Even after being on the receiving end of some of these actions, there are those who remain together simply because the harmful person apologised for their actions.
24. Scared of change
Change is tough in all aspects of life and presents a vast spectrum of new challenges that you’re going to have to face. Being worried about change is natural but many people allow it to control their decision to stay in a relationship that they would otherwise hope to leave.
25. Because they’re loyal
Loyalty is a hugely important quality for people in serious relationships. However, a person shouldn’t be defined solely by their ability to be loyal. Some do feel this is enough reason to stay in a relationship despite the absence of other attractive qualities.
26. You have the wrong priorities
Being a relationship for the sake of it isn’t a great way to be fulfilled, yet many people find reasons to stay in a relationship despite this. Not having genuine connection with your partner should be enough to end the relationship as the emotion feelings are clearly not there, which should be the primary goal of a romantic relationship.
27. You don’t see an alternative
Not having the vision to see an alternative to the person or situation you are in is a very common problem and most people can’t look forward enough to find a potential future without the person they are currently with.
28. Manipulation
There are individuals who manipulate those who they are with and can end up causing damage to that other person. Feeling trapped or pressured into a relationship is an unfortunate reason as to why lots of relationships continue despite having lost the initial emotional connection.
29. Low self-esteem
Almost everyone at some point in their life will suffer heavily with self-esteem problems that result in a lowering of their self-worth and having a poor self-image. This can cause people to feel unattractive and therefore likely to only stay with the person with whom they are together.
30. In the habit of a bad relationship
Relationships in and of themselves are habit forming, including the bad ones. These habits can be challenging to break from and can result in people sustaining relationships that they aren’t invested in anymore simply because of the habit of being even slightly emotionally connected to someone.