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This sign could predict which couples won't last

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Cosmopolitan

It is a sad day, for Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan announced they have "lovingly chosen to separate." The couple, who met a long time ago on the set of the best American-made film of modern time, Step Up, spilled the news of their split in a statement to People and then in identical posts on their respective Instagram accounts.

Tatum and Dewan swear there are no secrets or "salacious events" at the root of this fracture, but that hasn't stopped a better part of the entire world from wondering what in the hell could've caused love as we know it to die.

Look, you know how this works. We can't know the real reasons why this latest celeb couple decided to split. We may never know! We aren't entitled to that information. But we are self-centred monsters who are going to continue to look for signs, anyway.

While Dewan seems to have purged her Instagram of all recent signs of the relationship, there are still traces of the couple's very mushy gushy social media posts left on Tatum's profile.

Those who've followed Dewan and Tatum, or simple lurked on their pages from time to time, might've noticed the couple did something that made it appear they were extremely in love: Post about each other often. Well, DID YOU KNOW that in September 2014, a team of researchers published a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin that suggested couples who have very high "relationship visibility" (or publicly post a lot about their relationship) may be masking relationship insecurity?

The hypothesis was rooted in attachment theory and attachment styles, something everyone who has taken an intro to psychology class loves to talk about. Basically, the researchers thought that people with avoidant attachment styles (or withdraw from partners) would have less desire for "relationship visibility," while those with anxious attachment styles (or need more reassurance from partners about the relationship) would have a higher desire for visibility.

"On a daily basis, when people felt more insecure about their partner’s feelings, they tended to make their relationships visible," the researchers wrote. "These studies highlight the role of relationships in how people portray themselves to others."

Other research tends to suggest the same thing - couples who post a lot about each other may not be as happy as their polished Instagram presences make them out to be. It may actually be quite the opposite. I am willing to bet my salary that you're thinking of a specific couple that you hate-follow who always posts incredibly detailed updates about their relationship, and finding validation in these findings.

So, all those posts that painted Tatum and Dewan as the perfect celebrity couple that we've all fawned over for nine plus years may have been a sign of looming trouble this whole time. Or maybe we're just hungry for answers. Probably the latter. In any case, enjoy the rest of this demonic news cycle.

Follow Hannah on Twitter.

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