Suffering from January blues? You still might not want to end your bad relationship

Today is Blue Monday - with Leeds reportedly one of the worst cities affected - but the feeling of gloom is unlikely to end couples' relationships, according to new research.

The average person knowingly stays in a bad relationship too long for their own good - for an average of four years, according to the study by eHarmony. The findings showed that the most common reason for staying in a relationship is the fear of being alone, with 12 per cent giving that as the reason.

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said: “The start of a new year is a great time to take stock of everything in your life and work out what you want from the year ahead, be it a career change, new fitness plan or relationship reassessment.