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The qualities Brits find most annoying in a partner, new survey reveals

Brits don't really care if their partner makes more money than them

Chelsea Ritschel
Friday 02 March 2018 17:29 GMT
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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

They say love is blind, but according to a new survey that's rarely the case.

In an effort to uncover the biggest relationship deal breakers, YouGov surveyed British men and women about relationship compatibility - and it turns out there are quite a few things that would make Brits uncomfortable in their relationship.

Surprisingly, from a list of 30 different attributes a partner could have, the one that irks Brits the most is cleanliness - or a lack thereof.

According to the survey, seven in ten said they would feel uncomfortable with a partner who cared a lot less about being “clean and tidy.”

If you are guilty of leaving your dirty socks lying around, maybe this news will encourage you to tidy up.

However, only 21 per cent would consider it a deal breaker if their partner was overly clean and tidy - so clean freaks shouldn’t worry too much.

But if cleanliness isn’t a big deal for you - a lack of intelligent conversation may be.

As relationships require a decent amount of communication, discrepancies in intelligence proved to be a pretty big turn off - with 53 per cent of Brits revealing they would be uncomfortable being with someone much less intelligent than them.

Cleanliness is the most important thing to have in common
Cleanliness is the most important thing to have in common

And yet only 20 per cent would be bothered by a partner who is smarter than them.

Disparities in attitude can also be a pretty big deal breaker. If you’re more type A, it can be difficult to relate to someone with a more laid-back attitude.

According to the survey, 53 per cent of Brits would feel uncomfortable with a partner who was less easygoing - as sometimes you need to let loose in a relationship.

Interestingly, comparable cleanliness, intelligence, and attitude were all found to be significantly more important in a relationship than attributes such as sex drive, humour, money, and ambition.

However, the survey did reveal 46 per cent of women would be bothered by a partner with a much higher sex drive - compared to just 20 per cent of men who would view that as a problem.

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