The Top Relationship Red Flags

According to the psychologists behind a new study, There are six main red flags that most men and women see as deal breakers in romantic partners — and “cheating” isn’t one of them.

Here are the tell-tale signs people should be wary of when seeking a healthy committed relationship — be it sexual or platonic.

Warning signs for a doomed love match were being “apathetic,” “gross,” “unmotivated,” “promiscuous,” “clingy” and “addicted,” meaning someone who has had an alcohol or substance problem and/or a criminal past.

The study considered how each red flag differed for long-term and short-term relationships, as well as between men and women.

When it came to long-term relationships, being apathetic — inattentive, uncaring, untrusting and dismissive of interests — was considered the biggest red flag for both men and women.

In second place came someone being “gross” — meaning having poor hygiene, being “unattractive,” smelling bad or having certain health issues like sexually transmitted diseases.

Being clingy ranked third, which was seen by participants as covering controlling behaviour and being too jealous.

Other major red flags in long-term relationships include any sort of addiction (third place), lack of motivation, ambition and financial prospects (fourth place) and lastly, being promiscuous — meaning having sex with or having dated many other partners.

The rankings were slightly different for men and women in short-term relationships, with being “gross” sitting in the first place, followed by being “clingy” and apathy sliding into third place.

Overall, women had stronger deal-breaker ratings than men.