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47% of people in long term relationships won’t use the toilet in front of their partner

In an ongoing study into British bathroom behaviour we asked a range of people from all walks of life what they do in their bathroom. This week it was toilet habits of us Brits and the findings were somewhat of a surprise.

We asked over 1,800 men and women in long term relationships whether they went to the toilet in front of their partner, 47% of participants said ‘no’, while 53% said ‘yes’ they did.

Our researchers then asked why the respondents that said no were so reluctant to go to the toilet in front of their partner. 44% said that they felt ‘embarrassed’, 31% said that it was a ‘private moment’ and didn’t want to do it in front of their partner, and 25% said that they didn’t want to ‘put their partner off them’ so avoided doing it in their presence.

Those who said that they were comfortable using the toilet in front of their partner were also asked, ‘How long were you in a relationship before you were comfortable doing so?’ and asked to pick from a selection of options. The most common time period chosen was ‘six months to a year’ with 57% of the vote, although 17% admitted that they used the toilet in front of their partner ‘practically straight away’.

Those who answered no to the original question were asked if they thought that they would ever be comfortable going to the toilet in front of their partner, to which 61% said ‘probably not.’ They were also asked if they locked the toilet door when their partners were in the house, 44% answered yes.

Males were more likely to go to the toilet in front of their partner with 67% of men admitting that they do it.

Our director Peter Gregg commented on the study saying:

“Toilet habits are often a cause of embarrassment. This can be even more so in front of a partner, particularly new ones. The image of the perfect English rose can be rocked a little by the call of nature! But surely in a long term relationship, people should know each other well enough to be comfortable in almost any situation?

“According to our study it seems that this isn’t necessarily the case. There really shouldn’t be cause for embarrassment though. After all, what happens in the bathroom is one of life’s natural functions, which everybody needs to do. If your partner has a problem with it, then maybe the problem lies with them!”

toilet habits

Picture courtesy of: stuartpilbrow

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