When you think of the saying “new year, new me,” your mind likely goes straight to fitness and wellness goals. But the start of another trip around the sun may spark a desire for new beginnings beyond the confines of the gym. It might be the perfect time to re-evaluate your love life.
The first Sunday in January, which has been dubbed “Dating Sunday,” is the busiest time of year for dating apps. It’s not all that surprising, as the new year is a time when people feel motivated to set goals for themselves. In this case, many singles are hunkering down and getting serious about finding a partner.
If you just spent the holidays romantically uninvolved, you may be thinking: I’m never doing that again. Yet, that same thought may also cross the minds of the romantically involved. While singles are setting dating resolutions for 2026, many established couples are reflecting on the year past, and might be grappling with one tough question: Should I stay or should I go?
“When we come to the end of the full year, we’re looking back at everything we brought in. Did it serve us? Were we happy?” says Emma Hathorn, a relationship expert at dating site Seeking.com. “The beginning of the year creates quite a bit of conflict for people.”
“The holidays allow you time to dig into your relationships and reflect,” she adds. “When you hit the ground running again in the new year, you’re forced to reckon with everything you’ve brought with you from the previous year. It ends up creating a lot of conversations for people: ‘Is this what I want this year? Am I willing to go through another year like I did the last one, good or bad?’ The new year creates a space for people to start evaluating if they want those relationships going forward.”
Red Flags for the Future
For couples questioning the longevity of their relationships, what is one red flag that shouldn’t be ignored? Jealousy, according to Hathorn.
Say, for example, you mention a big job opportunity, or you’ve planned a fun date night, and they respond unenthusiastically or put you or your ideas down in a subtle way, then it may be time to question the relationship.
“As soon as someone stops uplifting you and making you feel like you’re the most amazing person in the entire room, you can start to pick up that they might not be on your level anymore — or maybe they never were in the first place,” says Hathorn. “If they feel threatened by your ambition, and it brings up their own insecurities, I think that is probably the biggest red flag.”
Are We in a Relationship Recession? We Asked a Dating Expert.
The dating scene was a minefield in 2025, and couples didn’t have it much better. Thais Gibson has some advice for a better, more romantic 2026.You might also have to consult your own crystal ball, look into your future and ask yourself if in five years you still see this person next to you.
“If you’re really considering where you’re going to be in the future, and, for some reason, you’re by yourself, or you have this kind of ambiguous figure by your side, and you don’t see that individual as they are right now, with you there, that’s another massive red flag,” says Hathorn.
You Both Deserve a Clean Break
What do you do if you peer into your crystal ball and you don’t see your partner? Hathorn suggest cutting the cord — completely.
The thought of cutting off a relationship, especially a long-term relationship, can be distressing, and feel like a move you would want to avoid at all costs. In the past, I knew when a relationship had run its course, but instead of doing the difficult thing and ending it right then and there, I waited for it to resolve on its own. It eventually did, but throughout those prolonged months, there was a lot of guilt, anxiety and depression I experienced. Ultimately, waiting it out to see if things got better or worse did more harm to me.
Plus, staying in a relationship that isn’t fulfilling you does an injustice to your partner as well. Stringing someone along isn’t fair to them either, and nine times out of ten, they know something is up, which can result in them feeling confused, anxious and frustrated.
“You don’t want to confront it, so you leave it, and then by the time you’ve left it, you’re like, ‘Oh God, what do I do now?’ You have to cut it off. You have to have a clean break. There’s really no other way around it,” says Hathorn, who adds that the break-up needs to be concrete and clearly defined on both sides.
“Obviously, try not to have a massive fight or blow up about the end of the relationship, but you need to be clear when you end things,” she adds. “If you have to do no contact, do no contact. You can’t do that on-again, off-again situation.”
Oh, and don’t even bother saying you two can still be friends, because you can’t. One of humankind’s greatest technological advances is the “Block” button. Use it.
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