A RELATIONSHIP expert has revealed why it’s perfectly fine for people to go on holiday without their partner, but it turns out not everyone agrees.
A lot of couples expect to do everything with their significant other, but that shouldn’t always be the case, according to Susan Winter.
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The author and relationship coach explained why separate holidays can sometimes even be beneficial for a couple, rather than cause any damage.
The subject arose because of a post on Reddit in which a man wanted to know if he was a bad person for booking flights to Japan on his own, without his partner of five years.
He asked others if it was bad that he’d booked to go on his dream trip solo because he was in a better position financially than his girlfriend and had always wanted to go to the country.
He wrote: “I’m someone who has dreamed of going to Japan for the longest time. I have told this to my girlfriend a couple of times before [and] during our relationship.
“Between us, I’m more capable of traveling because I’m the one who earns more.
“I had this intense urge to travel to Japan this year and I was actually telling her to come with me a few times, but she told me that she couldn’t afford to travel to Japan yet.”
The man explained that his partner was upset “because it felt to her like I didn’t include her in my decision, and that I was super impulsive.
“She also told me that it hurts not being able to have the capability of travelling with me.
“It’s really tough for me because of course, I want to share these experiences with her but I also wanted to really pursue this trip for myself, even though I’m alone.”
The subject was put to Susan to ask for her opinion and she said that it’s completely fine for couples to take trips separately and that people often need their own space once in a while.
She told Inside Hook: “We are accustomed to vacations being taken together as a couple, quality time.
“Now we are discovering that, in order to reconnect with ourselves and have much more that we can give to our partner, many individuals within a couple are choosing to do a solo trip.
“Modern individuals, within a couple, are carving out time to fulfil their own needs and goals, their personal goals. The end result, if done properly, can be very beneficial to the relationship.”
However, not everyone was quite in agreement with Susan, with other people telling the man that he was being selfish.
One said: “I thought maybe they’ve been just dating for a few months (not saying it’s an excuse) but when I saw they’ve been together FIVE years, and he just pulls this.
“Wow. It’s so incredibly selfish, and he clearly doesn’t look at her like a partner. If the place is cleared of her things when he gets back, he shouldn’t be surprised.”
Another agreed, saying: “That’s what single people do. No one in a committed relationship would ever behave this way.”
However, there was some support for Susan’s opinion, with one person saying: “I can understand your gf’s frustration but it’s your money & your vacation & you don’t have to assume any other obligations, financial or otherwise.”
Meanwhile, this man booked himself a first class plane ticket, but put his wife in economy class.
And this woman also had to sit in economy while her husband and his friend sat in first.
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