Body odour, a baby voice, being too clingy: Poll reveals common relationship ‘icks’

SINGAPORE – Wondering why you cannot find love? Maybe it is time to buy a new deodorant and relook the way you communicate.

A survey of 2,000 adults in Britain has found that half of them have broken up with their partner because of an “ick” – the spontaneous feeling of disgust you get when someone you are attracted to does something off-putting.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, The Straits Times highlights 40 of biggest relationship icks that got people dumped:

1. Smelling bad

2. Pretending to be more knowledgeable about something than they actually are

3. Being overbearing and rude

4. Double texting (sending a secondary text if you have not responded after the first one)

5. Having bad teeth

6. Being rude to a waiter

7. Living in a mess

8. Having dirty fingernails

9. Chewing with their mouth open

10. Being too clingy

11. Talking too loudly

12. Eating and talking at the same time

13. Being obsessed with their star signs

14. Having long fingernails

15. Putting on a baby voice

16. Wearing too much make-up

17. Breathing heavily

18. Oversharing on social media

19. Referring to themselves in third person

20. Having a bad tattoo

21. Wearing a weird-coloured lipstick

22. Wearing shoes that are too dirty

23. Having an Instagram account for their pet

24. Referring to their football team as “we”

25. Clapping when an airplane lands

26. Wearing bad jeans

27. Wearing sunglasses indoors

28. Taking longer than you to get ready

29. Having too many shirt buttons undone

30. Wearing shoes you do not like

31. Living with parents

32. Not wearing socks with shoes

33. Wanting to share food on the first date

34. Wearing a tacky watch

35. Using emojis in texts

36. Wearing socks to bed

37. Not paying on the first date

38. Wearing creased clothes

39. Saying pet names like “honey” or “baby”

40. Pronouncing late English singer David Bowie’s name wrong