With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, most couples have nothing but love and romance on their minds. But maybe they should wait a beat before they whip out the chocolates, dinner reservations, heart-shaped decorations, and appropriately-themed Jellycats. As it turns out, the Tuesday before Valentine’s Day, aka today (11 February), is infamously known as the year’s biggest breakup day. So, here are all the details about the cursed day netizens are calling ‘Red Tuesday’.

Red Tuesday, as previously mentioned, is the Tuesday before Valentine’s Day. And according to actual scientific evidence, it is supposedly the day a partner is most likely to call it quits, according to a study by Illicit Encounters shared with the Daily Mail. Why, you ask? The answer is simple: to avoid the pressures of Valentine’s Day. And it makes sense. I mean, who wants to plaster on a fake smile and nod as your valentine talks about sharing the chocolate soufflé, when you are secretly thinking that that’s not the only thing you would like to split up…

@meetonmelt

Coming from someone who was dumped on Valentines Day 🙃 #breakup #dumped #single #valentinesday

♬ drowning (edit) - Antent & vowl.

The study, which consisted of 1,200 people, found that 36 per cent of people ended a relationship in the week running up to Valentine’s Day. Further, roughly 66 per cent of them opted to part ways the Tuesday before.

27 per cent of them indicated that they just couldn’t bear the guilt of pretending to feel affection on the most romantic day of the year.

And to avoid the awkwardness of doing it in person, the majority, or 33 per cent, said that they ended things over the phone while 29 per cent opted for a good, old-fashioned text message.

Millennial men led the Red Tuesday breakups, while Boomers held steady, accounting for just 8 per cent of those calling it quits on the day.

“Red Tuesday breakups happen because people don’t want to fake their feelings on Valentine’s Day. Rather than go through the motions of romance, they’d prefer to be honest—even if it means heartbreak,” Jessica Leoni, a sex and relationships expert explained.

@kylie.brewer

I was shocked when I found out breakups spike around Valentine’s Day… #valentinesday #enjoybeingsingle #wlw #biwomen #valentines #vday #lgbtq

♬ original sound - forsaken폴린 - forsaken폴린

Leoni continued: “It’s also a time when people reflect on their relationship and decide if they truly see a future together. Some feel trapped by Valentine’s Day and the expectations that come with it, and rather than putting in effort for a relationship they don’t see lasting, they cut ties instead.”

For some Valentine’s Day is an actual cause of celebration, but for others, the holiday feels like a commercial scam; a day full of enforced obligations and manufactured feelings, designed to boost consumer spending. Is all of that really worth it for a love that simply isn’t worth celebrating anymore? It’s the question that seems to underpin the spike of breakups in the build-up to Valentine’s Day.

“Ultimately, Red Tuesday has become a day of reckoning for many couples, and it’s no surprise that we see a massive spike in break-ups right before Valentine’s Day.”

As long as things have been going smoothly in your relationship, there is no reason to think that Red Tuesday will change anything. Yes, with a cost of living rising and crippling inflation, couples are feeling more pressure than ever to do something special on a holiday where spending has become so essential.

However, only because something might break the bank doesn’t mean it will break things up. So before you crack out a box of tissues and hit play on the Bridget Jones movies, rest assured that this week won’t put every relationship to the test—maybe just your tolerance for chocolate and greeting cards.