12 People Share Their Partners' Habits That Quietly Destroyed Relationships

Pet peeves—those tiny habits that drive us crazy—hurt happiness and relationship satisfaction. From strange quirks to toxic patterns, little things can spiral into something much bigger. And as these 12 stories show, it can sometimes be the final straw.

• My first boyfriend refused to eat anything his mom didn’t cook. The one exception was Steak ’n Shake. He straight up told me that if he tasted something that his mom didn’t cook, he would still say, “EW” even if it didn’t taste bad. He had trained himself to have this sort of reaction. © exitosa / Reddit

• When she is drinking coffee & goes “aaaahhh” after every sip... I feel like leaving forever every time. © g219m / Reddit

• I dated a guy who was always loud and was a movie talker. Going to see a movie in the theater was always embarrassing because the people around us would glare while he was loudly speaking over the movie, oblivious to how much it was bothering everyone. © secretly_banana / Reddit

• I dated this guy who was a total “one-upper.” About pretty much everything, and even things that made no sense. If someone said, “Wow, I am so full, I just ate 3 cheeseburgers.” He would say, “Well, I ate 4 the other day, and I wasn’t even full.”
  At first, I don’t think he noticed it, but then other people and I started to call him out on it. It was funny sometimes because his “one-upping” would be so ridiculous at times, but then it got to the point where it hurt our relationship.
  It started to bother me a lot because I would be genuinely proud of a personal accomplishment of my own, and I’d be excited to tell him, and he would be like, “Oh, that’s easy, I have done that like 10 times already.” We broke up for numerous reasons, this being one of them. © pinkponies7 / Reddit

• I love spicy food, he couldn’t handle it. I really couldn’t care less, but for some reason, he thought he had to match me and eat food as hot as I do. After sitting in a restaurant with him, having tears streaming down his face for the umpteenth time, I was over it. So embarrassing. © Unknown author / Reddit

• Had one that would just say, “That’s nice” to pretty much everything, no matter how exciting.
  I’m back from work! That’s nice.
  I brought flowers! That’s nice.
  And a puppy? That’s nice.
  And I won the lottery. That’s nice.
  Really, that’s a tiny thing, but some days it just got on my nerves so much. © Unknown author / Reddit

• He was late. A lot. At first, it was okay. You know, he’s busy, and he has other things to do and that’s fine. But eventually he started being late every single time we met up.
  We’d end up missing cinema showings, he was even late for meals with my family, which was awkward. He was two hours late when we were going on holiday. It went from 10 minutes late to 30 minutes late to an hour late. Sometimes it was less and sometimes more, but every single time we met up, he was late.
  And he’d never text me and let me know. I’m like, dude, you live 15 mins away; if it’s the time you’re supposed to be arriving, and you’re not even dressed yet, just let me know! A quick text is fine. Just so I can keep gaming, reading, or watching TV, knowing I won’t be interrupted to go out in a couple of mins.
  The final straw was when I dressed up for a nice little celebratory dinner, and he was over three hours late. I didn’t hear a word. I was texting and calling just to find out where he was, and I just got “I’m just leaving!” the couple of times he bothered answering.
  Eventually, I took off my nice outfit and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. We couldn’t really go for dinner at like 10:30 pm, so we just ate a pre-packed sandwich whilst parked in Tesco’s car park. I broke up with him the next day. © BRDtheist / Reddit

• I’ll never forget that argument my girlfriend had with her mom. Her mom let a friend sleep in one of her beds, and my girlfriend flipped out and got mad. Even after her mom washed the sheets, it wasn’t enough.
  Then came the turning point—she had a strange habit of blowing everything out of proportion. She threw her mom’s clothes on the floor, hid her handbags, and almost smashed antique china before I stepped in. Two weeks later, the relationship was over.

• I dated a hoarder... We loved the same movies, books, and music. He had a great sense of humor and loved mine. But he was a hoarder.
  He dressed well and was a professional musician who was making great money. But he was a hoarder. He was smart and charming.
  But I just could not get past the stinky, dirty hoard he lived in. He wanted to buy us a house and get married. I suggested a duplex, and he could come visit, but the hoarder could not move in. I finally broke it off.
  I love him still, but I cannot deal with a hoarder. He has “tried” therapy, and as many know, hoarding disorder is nearly incurable. He had a very rough upbringing; I completely understand how and why he became a hoarder, as much as one who isn’t can. But I just couldn’t deal with the smells, the bugs, the rats, ohmygod. © mountainsunset123 / Reddit

• I was seeing this girl and, in flirting, she mentioned that she had a tendency to sprain her ankles. I thought it was funny at the time and passed it off as nothing.
  On our first date, she tells me that she tripped getting ready because she was so nervous. I thought it was cute and had a really great time. Second date, she tells me that she’s been limping and in pain and can’t stand for long periods of time. I feel bad for her, and we just hang out.
  Third date, she tells me she tore her meniscus in her knee when she fell, and I will have to come to Brooklyn for all subsequent dates because she can’t travel. Eventually, things fell apart because of distance, and I felt like she was going to break both her legs any time she stood up. © i_h***_jose / Reddit

• He cried a lot. And I’d like to clarify what I mean by this. He didn’t just cry every now and then. He cried All. The. Time.
  When we were out together, he acted the part of the big macho guy. But when we were alone? Anything could set him off.
  We were lying in my bed one time, and my roommate was having a pretty heated discussion over the phone with her parents in the other room. Suddenly, I felt my shirt getting wet, and he’s got his face in my shoulder, sobbing. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, “I just feel so bad for her.” He barely knew my roommate.
  Anytime I wanted to talk to him about our relationship or about problems I was having, regardless of whether or not these problems were serious, he cried. Every time. What are you supposed to do when every time you try to talk about your relationship, one of you breaks down sobbing?
  I understand that he probably had a lot of unresolved issues, but it was almost like he was expecting me to take on all of this emotional baggage by only choosing to cry in front of me. I have plenty of emotional baggage already, and my first instinct when I go into a relationship is not to thrust all of it into the other person’s hands. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. © Unknown author / Reddit

• He had just turned 19, and I was 24. He was sure of his feelings, bought me a diamond necklace, and was planning our future. I thought it was sweet—he seemed so sure of what he wanted.
  Everything seemed perfect until one night, when I noticed something unusual. He had a habit of checking my phone when I wasn’t around, something I hadn’t caught on to before. I immediately broke up with him.

In a world where online gaming can be another reason for a ruined relationship, this story stands out. One wife prepared a heartwarming surprise for her husband and has captured the internet’s attention.