Expert says there's one clear sign that signals the end of most relationships

When do you know when the time is to pull the plug? When you've exhausted every option and the relationship is only set for failure?

It can be hard to know what the right thing to do is in a relationship - there's only so many times you can go round and round having the same disagreements - but when do you know when it's time to cut your losses and step away altogether?

Well, if you're not sure, an expert has voiced there's one clear sign that signals the end of most relationships.

In a Reddit thread titled: "What screams 'we are not going to last long' for couples?'", users discussed the point in a relationship where there's no going back and one person shared an insight they received from a marriage counsellor.

When is it time to call it quits for good? (Getty Stock Image)

One wrote: "I was at a party one time and there was a marriage counsellor there that had been working for 20-something years in couples counselling. I asked her what the number one sign was that the couple wasn't going to make it.

"Without hesitating, she said, 'If one person shows contempt for the other's feelings, it's over!'"

And by 'contempt,' sex and relationship researcher Kristen Mark exemplified to The Knot: "Mocking your partner, speaking to them with condescension, or using sarcasm for cruelty are all examples of contempt."

Other Reddit users shared their ideas about when a relationship is - or should be - over.

One person said: "I think when you just don't care anymore. You don't care to fight with them. You don't care to be intimate. You don't care to make an effort."

Another wrote: "Asking friends if they think you should break up. At least for me this means you've made the decision you just want it backed up by someone."

And a third added: "If you find yourself fantasising about being single again. Your gut is right more often than you think."

If you can't stop thinking about being single again, it's probably a sign to break things off (Getty Stock Image)

And Jeff Guenther - a therapist from the US - has shared five major problems that couples may find impossible to work through.

First, if you start neglecting the little things like flirting or giving each other compliments, he says this 'creates a significant gap' between you that can be difficult to mend.

Constantly finding yourself arguing over the same things also indicates that you may be heading towards a breakup.

Guenther cites growing apart and craving independence as more signs your relationship could be coming to an end.

And lastly, if one person starts to develop feelings for someone else, that’s usually a sure fire indicator that things are over.

"The redirection of affection for someone else renders the task of mending the original relationship extremely difficult, if not impossible," he added.