Scientists have discovered the 'point of no return' in doomed relationships that means it can't be saved

If you're putting all of your effort into a rocky relationship and still seem to be getting nowhere, it might be time to call it a day.

And it turns out that there really is a 'point of no return' that couples just can't come back from, according to scientists in Germany.

Experts at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz reckon they've cracked the code to spotting a doomed relationship which can't be saved.

So hopefully from here on out, loads of us will no longer waste any more of our time with someone who isn't destined to be in our lives.

A doomed couple is a lot easier to spot than people might think, according to experts in Germany (Getty Stock Image)

They used four studies conducted in Germany, Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands involving 11,295 people, with relationships spanning from 12 to 21 years who discussed their relationship satisfaction before a breakup.

For the study, her team took a good look at the entirety of people's relationships - from start to finish - and measured how satisfied each person was from the beginning until the end.

Their findings, which were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, explain that one person in these kind of relationships usually feel a slow decline in romance, before reaching a sudden breaking point.

The new research finds that the bridges can be burnt between two lovers anywhere from seven to 28 months before one of them plucks up the courage to end it.

It was then discovered that there tends to be two phases which a lot of couples in a relationship destined to fail go through; a gradual decline in satisfaction, which Bühler dubs the 'terminal phase', followed by a 'transition point'. And when you hit this 'transition point', nothing can prevent the breakup, according to the study.

"Once this terminal phase is reached, the relationship is doomed to come to an end," the study's lead author, Professor Janina Bühler, said.

But these feelings aren't typically divided evenly between each partner - as the research suggests the person who instigates the split usually ends up experiencing these feelings up to a year before they finally call things off.

People can begin to check out of the relationship up to 28 months before the breakup, the study said (Getty Stock Image)

This 'terminal decline' phase might go completely unnoticed by their other half, but of course, they might pick up on some signs. And if they do click onto the fact that they're about to be left in the lurch, it's only going to accelerate the breakup, according to the researchers.

Instead of experiencing a gradual decline in satisfaction like the break up-er, the break up-ee has a rapid slump in happiness.

So although a lot of people attribute the end of their relationship to something random that they didn't see coming, Professor Bühler the demise of a relationship is a lot easier to predict than people think.

Even though this is considered the point of no return, the professor says you still have a chance at saving it if you are in the 'pre-terminal phase', AKA feeling a slow decline in romance.

Bühler says you need to keep an eye on both you and your partner's satisfaction slumping, before 'it begins to go rapidly downhill'...so time is of the essence, people.