A Quarter of Co-Habiting Couples Choose to Spend Evenings Apart

18 May 2013

A Quarter of Co-Habiting Couples Choose to Spend Evenings Apart

In this current economy we have to work harder and longer hours so you’d think we’d be trying to spend all the time we could with our partners, but apparently not.

A quarter of British couples who are living together will regularly shun each other’s company in favour of watching TV.

Rather than crash in front of the TV together at the end of a long day, couples have admitted that they would rather watch TV separately.

This was mostly due to having a lot of schedule clashes and each partner still wanting to watch their favourite show.

Couples admitted that they would rather watch their own shows separately rather than record one to watch later so that they could spend time together.

The research shows that this will happen, on average, three times a week.

For women, it was the thought of missing their favourite soap that drove them to watch TV alone, and for men it was missing their favourite sports show.

But when it came down to it, if a couple had to watch one TV show together it would be the women that made the decision as to what they would watch.

Alex Lane of Recombu Digital, who conducted the research, said, “It seems that men are no longer the dominant force when it comes to wielding the remote control as tradition has long dictated.

“Now the power resides with women according to our poll, as they appear to be the more likely sex to get their way when it comes to what’s on the box.”

Alex predicts the summer months may be a bit more relaxed when it comes to who gets to wield the remote.

He says, “It’s no surprise to us in our office that there’s a battle between soaps and sport in the majority of households. I’m sure evening Champions League fixtures are a real bone of contention when it comes to missing Corrie.

“Let’s hope the television stakes are a bit more relaxed over the summer months. Unless Ashes fever takes hold of course; then cricketing highlights could mean a few more nights with couples in different rooms!”