The most popular ways Brits spite their partner after an argument
More than a fifth of Brits (22%) admit to getting revenge on their loved one by sneakily watching episodes of their favourite series when things have got heated.
“Punishing your partner by withdrawing love, affection or company is normally a learned behaviour from childhood and your parents would have most likely used this as a tool to influence or control your behaviour when you were little. Couples with these tendencies who stay together for a long time will therefore have a parent/child relationship with one being the adult, and the other being a naughty child.” – Nick Davies, leading UK Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist
A study by sofa and carpet specialist, ScS, revealed that those aged 45-54 are the most likely to series cheat on their partner (25%), with millennials revealed as the most loyal Netflix partners (just 16% have watched ahead).
A quarter (27%) of people believe that Netflix cheating is more of a betrayal than sending flirty text messages to another person², which lays cause for concern, considering that this is the third most common tactic Brits use to spite their partner after a row.
Lucy, 22 from Sheffield, shared how she watched ahead to get back at her boyfriend: “We had a huge argument and I was still feeling the wrath the morning after. We had been watching Power, and the final episode had just been released. Usually we’d wait until after work to watch it together but I watched on the bus on the way to work and texted him the biggest spoiler, revealing who shot Ghost (the main character). He was fuming, but got over it eventually, and to be fair it made us forget about what we were originally arguing about!”
The most popular ways Brits spite their partner after an argument are:
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Ignore or not speak to their partner over 24 hours (36%)
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Get them to sleep on the sofa (29%)
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Watch your favourite TV programme without the other (22%)
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Cook dinner for themselves but not their partner (10%)
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Leave to stay at a friends house (9%)
“The answer to these situations is communication, but not when you’re angry. It’s important to calm down and reflect on what it is you’re not getting or which boundaries you feel have been violated by your partner. It’s definitely easy to want to annoy or frustrate them, but getting one up on your partner won’t make you feel better for long. It’s best to get to the core of the issue and address them together if you don’t want them to happen again.” – Nick Davies, leading UK Psychotherapist and Hypnotherapist
Other punishments given by Brits in a lover’s spat include:
Mollie, 20 from London, revealed: “My boyfriend drunk texted one of my friends a flirty message so I mixed salt into his sugar pot – every time he had a cup of tea he was getting a funny taste, but couldn’t figure out why. In the end he put sugar on his cereal and figured it out. He wasn’t happy but I have no regrets, he deserved it!”
Lisa, 25 from Huddersfield, was supposed to be having a quiet night in with her boyfriend, who cancelled last minute to go out boozing with his friends: “The next day I made him believe we were about to get intimate, and then handcuffed him to the radiator. Instead of the fun morning he thought he was getting, I left him there for a few hours and went about my day running errands. He’s not cancelled plans since.”
Other confessions include turning off a boyfriend’s charger while they were sleeping, turning the oven off when their partner’s tea was cooking and running the hot water while their other half was in the shower so the water went cold.
“It’s surprising to see how many people are punishing their partners after fallouts. Whether it’s by one of them sleeping on the sofa, giving the silent treatment or locking them out the house, it seems Brits are quick to try and annoy their loved one after a disagreement! It’s much better to hash things out so you can get back to snuggling on the sofa, binging your favourite shows together and not alone and frustrated.” – Dale Gillespie, Head of Acquisition at ScS
To find out more advice on how to resolve relationship complications, visit: SCS In The Dog House
In Coronation Street recently Yasmeen’s row over food with husband Geoff lead to him cooking her pet chicken. This extreme case of a fall out is part of the ITV saga’s current social plot highlighting coercive controlling behaviour.
