40 biggest ‘icks’ revealed by people who have dumped their partner
Wearing socks in bed, mispronouncing David Bowie's name and clapping when an airplane lands make the list.
Watch: If you clap when planes land, your partner might break up with you
Dirty or long fingernails, using a “baby voice” and terrible tattoos are just some of the so-called 'icks' cited by people who have dumped their partners.
A new poll of 2,000 adults found that half of respondents (49%) have broken up with their partner because of an ick.
Around 12% of respondents said they have broken up with someone because they were obsessed with star signs, while 11% said they got the ick when their partner clapped when a plane landed.
Read more: What your star sign says about your sex life, according to an astrologist
One in 10 men claimed they would call it quits with someone who wanted to share food on a first date, while 14% of women polled by American dating site Seeking said a major turn off would be their partner referring to a football team they support as “we”.
“People are very set on what they want, which is empowering,” Seeking’s dating expert Emma Hathorn said.
“Online dating has opened up a whole new world of singles, which means people can afford to have higher standards. And if an absolute deal-breaker for you is someone who never wears sunglasses indoors or chews with their mouth open, that’s absolutely fair enough.”
The biggest ick noted by respondents was someone who smelled bad, or pretending to be more knowledgeable about something than they really were.
Read more: Dolly Parton reveals how she's kept her marriage strong for 56 years
Two thirds of respondents said they were “picky” when it comes to dating, while 22% admitted they were “very picky”.
Two out of five of the respondents believe their dating standards have gotten higher as they have gotten older, with 60% admitting they would judge a first date location if it didn’t match their standards.
A quarter of respondents (28%) said that salary is the most important thing when it comes to looking for a potential partner, while 19% value a good fashion sense over everything else.
“The current trend in dating at the moment is ‘dating up’ - finding someone who can better and elevate their own lifestyle,” Hathorn added.
Read more: Why we want to have more sex when it’s cold outside
“So, the goal for all singletons is to not only be someone who can help someone else ‘date up’ - but find someone who can elevate themselves at the same time. As with all things in life, it’s about finding that exact balance that works for you, and this can be tricky if you are totally inflexible in who you date.
“Keeping an open mind is key, and you may find someone who elevates your life in every way possible - even if they wear terrible shoes.”
40 things that give people the “ick”
Smelling bad
Pretending to be more knowledgeable about something than they actually are
Being overbearing and rude
Double texting (sending a secondary text if you’ve not responded after the first one)
Having bad teeth
Being rude to a waiter
Living in a mess
Having dirty fingernails
Chewing with their mouth open
Being too clingy
Talking too loud
Eating and talking at the same time
Being obsessed with their star signs
Having long fingernails
Putting on a baby voice
Wearing too much make-up
Breathing heavily
Oversharing on social media
Referring to themselves in third person
Having a bad tattoo
Wearing a weird coloured lipstick
Having shoes that are too dirty
Having an Instagram account for their pet
Referring to their football team as 'we'
Clapping when an airplane lands
Wearing bad jeans
Wearing sunglasses indoors
Taking longer than you to get ready
Having too many shirt buttons undone
Wearing shoes you don’t like
Living at home with parents
Not wearing socks with shoes
Wanting to share food on the first date
Wearing a tacky watch
Using emojis in texts
Wearing socks to bed
Not paying on the first date
Wearing creased clothes
Saying pet names like ‘honey’ or ‘baby’
Pronouncing David Bowie’s name wrong
Additional reporting by SWNS.
