A shocking number of British people are in unhappy relationships

Do you and your significant other fight regularly? You're not the only ones.

Eighteen per cent of UK couples argue regularly or consider separating, a new study has found.

The research, undertaken by the charity Relate, was based on a survey of 20,980 people in relationships between 2013 and 2015.

As the below chart from Statista shows, nearly half reported an occasional quarrel, while four and a half per cent reported they were in 'distressed relationships':

The research suggested that this meant roughly 2.87 million people in the UK were in a 'distressed relationship'.

Dr Marjoribanks, from Relate, said that constant fighting could impact on children's academic performance and societal views:

It is not just the actual breakdown of the relationship itself, it's specifically the conflict that surrounds that.

It means that when relationships end, it is not deemed to inevitably harm children, far from it.

It is the conflict in intact relationships that can be just as damaging, as when relationships end.

Children who grow up with parents who have highly-conflicted relationships are much more likely to have mental and physical health problems, to not do as well at school and end up in antisocial behaviour and criminality even.

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