Love & Sex

7 signs that it's time to end your situationship

By Isabel ten Brink | #!31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:005031#31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:00-6Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631 22am31am-31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:006Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2026312026Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100156153amSunday=9#!31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam3#03-22-2026#!31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:005031#\/31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:00-6Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631#!31Sun, 22 Mar 2026 06:15:50 +0100+01:00Europe\/Amsterdam3#

You are dating, it's fun, you meet regularly, texting back and forth, talking about all the important things in life, it feels familiar and you are slowly but surely falling in love. After a few months, you start to notice that you need confirmation. Does the other person like you just as much?

Maybe you have already expressed that you are exclusive, but there is still no real relationship. You have been involved with each other for more than six months and nothing is changing. Welcome to the situationship. You probably know this term by now. It can be super difficult to stop, as it quickly feels like giving up. Yet there are moments when you actually know it's time to put an end to it:

1. You regularly sleep together but still don't meet each other's parents, despite the fact that you even know what your lover's father's favorite food is from the long conversations you've had.

2. Not all of his or her friends know about your existence. Quite strange, because if there is love involved, you would think someone would proudly tell about you to the people they spend the most time with.

3. You are not really a priority for that person. You have to wait longer for a response, meeting up only happens when it suits the other person, and only after all appointments with friends and colleagues have been scheduled.

4. Due to the growing irritation, there is little room left for love. The annoying character traits seem to be highlighted, making it harder to think about the nice things.

5. It keeps going back and forth and up and down. It's either very fun or very exhausting. Those mood swings are not nice and often affect your day, whether you like it or not. It's very logical that a relationship has ups and downs, but if the commitment of a relationship is not official, it should at least be nice to be together.

6. If your lover, the person you have the most contact with, regularly disappoints you by just not coming through, it unfortunately probably does something to your self-confidence. You start to wonder what the reason is that it can't be made official.

7. You realize that you are worth someone being completely head over heels in love with you, can't wait to see you, and wants nothing more than to show the world that you belong to him or her.

No matter how difficult it is, if you recognize these things, it's time to put an end to it.