An “ick” is a popular term used to describe strong feelings of disgust that emerge in response to the behaviours of others.
These cringe-inducing actions may go unnoticed by most, but when you’re getting to know somebody romantically, they can stand out like a sore thumb and become difficult to ignore.
The most defining aspect of a relationship ick is that they are often trivial, but to the person they’re affecting, they’re an absolute deal-breaker that they generally cannot move past.
Some relationship icks can also be early warning signs, or red flags, that one person in the relationship feels will not bode well them in the future as they may be an indicator of a more serious issue.
Reddit is a social news aggregation, web content rating and discussion website that has many threads that discuss people’s relationships icks. From hilarious to more concerning deal-breakers, people took to the site to discuss their biggest and most petty turn-offs when it comes to dating.
Deal-breaking relationship icks:
No female friends
Men who don’t have any female friends. It makes me wonder what they think of women, if they can’t develop a meaningful, platonic relationship with them without any expectations of sex, and just makes me feel a bit icky in their presence. –BlueGhettoValentine
Obsessed with phone-checking
If we're on a first date and you put your phone on the table, it's not going any further. Unless you're a doctor/nurse on call, you've got no reason to have your phone out. I find it soooooo rude. – dirtbags4ever
No respect for personal space
Every time I sat down on the sofa he'd sit right next to me. Like on the same sofa cushion. It started to feel smothering really quickly and it wasn't long for everything about him to annoy me. – CosmoPrincess
Bad mouther
If they have absolutely nothing nice to say about any of their exes. - brummylass
Too much too soon
Calling me sexy or having any sort of sexually fuelled talk when I first get to know a person will blacklist them in my mind. – dzgata
Couldn’t unsee his unusual facial features
This is so shallow, but I was dating a guy for a couple of weeks and he told me that the kids at school used to call him “Rat” because he looks like a rat. I couldn’t unsee it after he said that, I completely lost interest. He really does look like a rat. – Prinnykin
Angry tweeter
I tend to go look at their social media first. I was really into one guy until I checked out his Twitter and saw how unreasonably angry he was about everyone and everything. Very full of hate. It honestly alarmed me very much. – anidlezooanimal