We’ve long been told that the honeymoon phase is short-lived, that when it comes to monogamy and long-term relationships, you’re pretty much destined to find yourself living with someone whose very breathing becomes a source of great irritation. Of course, that’s not exactly true. Many a loved-up couple can attest to finding novelty and romance decades into their relationships and you need only look to celebrities like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds or Will and Jada-Pinkett Smith to see that yes, the spark can be kept alive thanks to humour and the ability to laugh at oneself. But even so, just as your own housemates or family members get on your nerves, it goes without saying that your partner can certainly rank up there too on occasion. And according to a new study, a third of people actually find their partner to be the most annoying person they know due to their infuriating habits.
According to the research conducted in the UK and commissioned by LG Electronics, the average loved-up Brit spends up to a fifth of their day feeling frustrated with their significant other due to issues like snoring, passing wind, loudness, messiness and rudeness. It equates to almost five hours of pure irritation, something that is sure to take its toll not only on your love life, but on your mental and emotional state too we would think.
But if you thought that was it, think again. Other annoying traits that ranked up there include talking through TV shows, being bad with money, leaving clothes on the bedroom floor, leaving crumbs on the kitchen side and of course, never listening. Tick, tick, tick and tick. Yep, we’ve certainly been there when it comes to common complaints in relationships.
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The respondents said their partners have an average of five annoying habits and interestingly, they also estimated to have about the same amount which shows a level of self-awareness. Of those polled, 37 per cent believed they annoy each other equally, while more than a quarter of men believe they irritate their other half more.
But what to do when your partner continues to bask in their irritable delights? A third suggested that when it comes to calling out their partner’s gripes, they tend to do so after the annoying behaviour surfaces again. In contrast, 52 per cent pick their moment more carefully, while a quarter of those polled play it down and one in five say they ignore the behaviour completely.
The study polled 2,000 people about the many issues that arise during the course of a relationship in an effort to understand whether any tech devices could help alleviate such woes and lessen the friction. According to Marina Clowes of LG Electronics, “It’s no surprise to see some of the most common annoying partner habits that Brits have voted on.” Clowes added, “It is interesting to see how many of these can be solved if you have the right smart technology products at home, like TVs with algorithms that learn your preferred viewing genre, noise-cancelling earbuds, and even steam closets to revive your ‘floordrobe’ items.”
There is some good news for buddying romantics out there, too. Of those surveyed, 41 per cent said they wouldn’t change their partner’s annoying habits because it’s what makes them ‘them’. Ah, the seeds of love grow deep. While we can’t say whether we’d be able to tolerate someone talking through our beloved TV shows, it’s good to know others can.
