sad woman's eye

Image courtesy of crazymessybeautiful.com

If you’re eyeing your lover suspiciously, wondering when the boom will drop and you’ll get the heave-ho. Look no further than Facebook for a prediction. British journalist David McCandless polled 10,000 status updates for the words “break up” or “broken up” and then graphed the results. The five most likely times for breaking up are:

Two weeks before Christmas
Can you say cheapskate? It’s about this time of December that serious holiday shopping begins. Why spend a lot of money on someone you don’t really like?

After Valentine’s Day
This romantic holiday, with its candlelit dinners, vases of roses and intimate moments, could very well strip away the veneer to reveal the heart and soul of a relationship — and the result may be one that just isn’t worth continuing.

The weeks leading up to spring break
This impacts college students the most, who may decide in the rush to a week of surf, sand and the barely clothed bodies of perfect strangers that they just don’t want to be encumbered by a dying romantic flame.

April Fool’s Day
Anyone who chooses this day on which to break up has a twisted sense of humour.

Monday
The most likely day of the week on which you’ll hear those dreaded words of farewell is Monday.

The least likely times to break up:
1. Christmas Day
2. Summer
3. Fall