From Content Creation to World of Warcraft: Commenters Named the Hobbies Most Likely to End a Relationship

A September 24 post on r/AskReddit came with a straightforward question: "Which hobby has ended more relationships than people realize?" The post had 7,100 upvotes and almost 5,000 comments as of publication, with users saying everything from golf and gaming to marathon training, social media, and even K-pop.

Golf was one of the most common answers. Many Redditors spoke of partners who spent whole days on the golf course, at times leaving their spouses or children for hours. One said their friend's husband spent so much time golfing that she felt as if she were a "side piece" in their marriage. Another remembered a woman whose husband had gone to a golf tournament instead of her father's funeral.

What emerged across multiple comments was that the hobby itself was not necessarily the problem — it was the time and attention devoted to it. "Sports to a fanatical degree," one commenter wrote, describing an ex who had missed family milestones due to his obsession.

Gaming was also a major topic, with online gaming in particular getting thousands of upvotes. People shared stories about partners spending too much time playing games, including one commenter who recalled a marriage that ended after the husband spent most of his honeymoon playing World of Warcraft.

Another user explained that she had found out her husband had spent around $15,000 in three months on microtransactions for a mobile game. She said the financial secrecy was more damaging to the relationship than the spending itself.

Fitness also came up over and over again, with references to CrossFit, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, etc. One person brought up a friend who started to run more marathons after having children; at the same time, another person spoke about their partner's journey from a half-Ironman to more demanding races, which would require a lot more training.

Social media content creation also appeared frequently as a source of relationship tension. One commenter explained how every dinner or walk could turn into an hour-long photo shoot since their partner was obsessed with going viral.

In another case, a relationship got worse on holidays and vacations, as their partner chose to create content rather than spend time together.

Then came hobbies, which, while fairly harmless, can turn disruptive if they take up most of a person's attention. Examples given by Reddit users included K-pop, cars, fishing, and volunteering with firefighting.

One commenter highlighted the main issue by saying, "obsession with anything, really." Another said that it's important that one knows, especially while in a relationship, that the real problem is not being able to strike a balance between a hobby and a relationship.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the personal experiences described by commenters in this Reddit thread. The details above reflect responses shared on r/AskReddit. Comments represent the opinions of individual Reddit users.