Movies, books, magazines and TV shows will always jump the gun on reporting or portraying a breakup between a couple. The mutual agreement to separate between two romantic partners is always seen as negative in society’s eyes.

However, the concept is — in most cases — for the best for both parties. In what way is that negative?
Of course, there are situations where breaking up is negative to the core. In most cases, it’s when one party has been cheating on the other. However, in reality, the chances of one’s partner actually cheating is a lot lower than one might think. These statistics are difficult to measure since the numbers change depending on the kinds of couples: heterosexual, homosexual, polyamorous or others.

In most cases, relationships end simply because of lack of attraction. In one situation, where lack of attraction only relates to one party, the relationship ends due to that party not wishing to lead the other on and hurt them. They are doing what is best for the other individual. In a situation where both parties lack attraction, they separate on their own accord; it’s an agreement. Out of these two common cases, why is breaking up still seen as negative?

Because breaking up, in a sense, is often led by the idea of “doing what is best,” very rarely does an individual break up with their partner to purposely hurt them. If that is the case, it is more than likely the opposite party never loved their partner in the first place, debunking the concept that it was ever a relationship at all. This tactic is used for manipulation if anything. It was never mutual romantic attraction.

If anything, the negative concept people react to is simply reevaluating the memories they made. It is not the once-couple people pity, it is not the emotions they had, but rather the experiences they witnessed them share. As a society, people do not link couples together by their genuine feelings or emotions, but rather where they went together, what they did, what they saw and who they were as individuals. Having kids together, exploring the world together and getting married are all just experiences and memories. American society never refers to a couple by what makes them partners emotionally. It is incredibly upsetting to see people pity experiences rather than human emotion.

Breaking up, more times than not, is a mutual agreement in order to make the individuals happier with themselves, to make them feel more comfortable. Unless it is brought on by the concept of cheating and or infidelity, which is, and always will be, a losing battle for all parties and anyone involved.