These Are the Professions With the Highest Rate of Breakups

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 5, 2026 1:15 PM EDT

Some jobs seem to be totally incompatible with having a personal life.

While it is not uncommon to joke about somebody being married to the job, there are professions where it seems like there is no other choice. From long hours to a lot of travel to a toxic working culture, there are any number of reasons why a career may get in the way of a person having a successful, long-lasting relationship.

It seems unfair that work should get in the way of finding and maintaining love, something many would argue is a necessity for most people. Nonetheless, there are plenty of jobs whose demands or structure seem to be tailor-made to get in the way of having a successful relationship. Considering how many individuals struggle with that without even having that hindrance, maybe choosing this kind of work is a good excuse to opt out of the occasional brutal world of dating.

Nobody wants to think of themselves as unlovable, but the reality is that we all have traits and aspects of our lives that are going to make us less attractive to others and maybe jeopardize our relationships. In some cases, those negatives are going to be job-related. 

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  • A woman and a man sitting on opposite ends of a couch, both turned away from one another and touching their faces
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    A woman and a man sitting on opposite ends of a couch, both turned away from one another and touching their faces

  • Perhaps it is the case that the kind of jobs where people struggle to hold down relationships attract those who have personalities where they are not good relationship material anyway. Maybe they start off pretty dateable, but the work shapes them into somebody who isn't. Or, maybe it is simply the case that some professional roles are particularly risky for anybody who also wants to maintain a romantic commitment. 

    When somebody asked what jobs and pastimes tended to result in the most breakups and divorces, the range of answers was wide. They may not doom a person to be alone, but they have to be extra careful when it comes to their relationships.

  • What hobby or job has a divorce/breakup rate that feels like it's close to 100%?

    the_mom_friend Stage Technicians, especially roadies who follows shows on tour. I realized during the last few weeks of my senior internship that every single stage tech employee was either a.) A divorced chain. smoker or b.) Married to a person who worked the same shows they did.
    via AdKlutzy5833
  • mutuafred Jobs with constant travel make staying connected really hard.
    via mutuafred
  • 43026 Over the Road (OTR) truck driving. After a few years, if you are not divorced, it can feel (to both parties) that you do not know each other any more. Its common for divorce both before During and after driving.
    via 43026
  • Lorditon Film industry can be quite high. Unsociable hours, long weeks, lots of travel and often last minute schedule changes.
    via Lorditon
  • I have got calls more than once saying "can you fly tomorrow morning, you'll be away for 3 months" and you have to apologise to your partner that literally everything you had planned for the next chunk of life has changed in about 10 minutes.
    via Lorditon
  • A woman and a man sitting on opposite sides of an unmade bed against a white brick wall
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A woman and a man sitting on opposite sides of an unmade bed against a white brick wall

  • edgarpickle When I was on the dating apps after I divorced in my 40s, it seemed like there was a disproportionate amount of nurses and other healthcare workers.
    via edgarpickle
  • Dizzy_Departure7200 I've noticed a lot in the Crossfit/Hyrox space. One person in the couple feels like the are bettering themselves while the other is stagnant. They've found a new community that they spend a lot of time with, plus sweat and endorphins.
    via Dizzy_Departure7200
  • A17012022 Police I'm in the UK, and from what my mates in the force say, cheating is incredibly common place.
    via A17012022
  • saltyurinalbiscuit Working at sea
    via saltyurinalbiscuit
  • Technical-Radish-552 Corrections. All the staff inevitably cheat on their spouses with their trauma bonded coworkers.
    via Technical-Radish-552
  • dragon34 Finance bros. They like to drop their old wives and get younger ones
    via dragon34
  • Cheezburger Image 10653353984
    via Vitaly Gariev

    A man and a woman sit on different ends of a couch, the man using a tablet and the woman looking away

  • camusthenarwhal Academia, particularly if one partner is not in the industry.
    via camusthenarwhal
  • start_nine Long distance running and races/triathlons seems to cause issues with relationships. People are not only training around 7-20 hours a week but their entire lifestyle is usually focused around running l.e. food, sleep, alc ol
    via start_nine
  • Pretend_Theme_1319 Audio engineer. I stupidly thought my ex and I would be the ones that made it even though every other engineer in his company was divorced. We made it 16 years. But a life of constant travel doesn't work well with raising a family, especially when there's already trust issues.
    via Pretend_Theme_1319
  • Productpusher Two full time popular social media stars have a 100% failure rate. One has to be the star and one has the be the person who doesn't post and makes appearances.
    via Productpusher
  • augustaye Paralegal here: Flight attendants and Cops. Work in family law, and it's a daily shrug of these two professions. ALL THE TIME. 100% of my cases involve 1 or both partners in these professions. Considering I'm helping 1-5 new. cases a week, I'm convinced never to work in either profession
    via augustaye
  • aharshDM Railroading. Kills relationships, de d. Not just romantic ones, too, friends and family. You're on-call 24-7, 365. Never more than a two hour drive from the depot.
    via aharshDM
  • Altruistic Aerie4758 Deployed military police and firemen. All gone for long hours or months. You lose connection with the spouses
    via Altruistic_Aerie4758

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