A Reddit thread asking whether people would date someone who shares pet custody with an ex recently sparked a surprisingly heated argument. Half the comments called it completely reasonable. The other half wanted nothing to do with it. The debate sounds niche, but the data suggests otherwise.
New survey data from DatingAdvice.com found that 55% of Americans wouldn’t date someone who regularly sees an ex to care for a shared pet. Sit with that for a second, because 61% of those same people say they’d sign a pet prenup themselves, and 40% say they’d share custody of a pet with an ex. Everyone’s on board with the idea in theory. Dating into it is a totally different conversation.
The numbers get stranger the further you dig. One in three Americans admitted to staying in a relationship they knew was over because they couldn’t face losing a pet. Men were more likely to have done this than women, 37% vs. 29%. The animal responsible for the most romantic paralysis? Dogs, and it wasn’t even close.
Natassia Miller, an AASECT-certified sexologist at DatingAdvice.com, has a solid read on why. “For many people, a dog or cat has become their most reliable source of touch, routine, and emotional regulation, so they’ll tolerate ongoing ties to an ex rather than risk losing that bond,” she told VICE. “But keeping your ex on the calendar because of your pet means the breakup never fully ends. You leave one emotional door open, which can feel comforting in the short term while quietly delaying the real work of grieving and moving on.”
Gen Z Is Leading the Charge With Pet Prenups…and Jealousy
Forty-five percent of respondents said they’d feel jealous if an ex’s new partner spent time with a pet they once shared. Gen Z led on that one, with 1 in 3 admitting to it, compared to 19% of boomers, who are either more evolved about this or just less attached to the dog. Gen Z also led interest in pet prenups at 66%, followed by millennials at 64%, Gen X at 53%, and boomers at 50%.
The legal reality hasn’t caught up to any of this. In most states, pets are still classified as personal property in a divorce, legally equivalent to a couch or a car. Debra Hamilton, a conflict consultant and mediator at Hamilton Law and Mediation, explained: “Pets are no longer considered mere property. They are family members, companions, and emotional anchors. The human bond with a pet can be dismissed in a single line of a court order. A pet prenup fills that gap before emotions run high.”
During the pandemic, Americans adopted pets at record rates. Many of those relationships didn’t make it. Pet prenups exist, in part, because nobody sorted out the dog situation before everything fell apart.
The post Would You Date Someone Who Shares a Dog With an Ex? Americans Have an Interesting Answer. appeared first on VICE.
