Why do couples break up right before winter cuffing season?

While you were blasting Taylor Swift’s August last month, holding onto the “hope of it all” with a man who won’t commit, September has been plotting. Not idly, but with intent. Suddenly, you’re staring down the urge to cut off someone you’re not even technically dating—armed with nothing but faded tan lines, an unflattering haircut, and his obsession with a podcast that’s less “self-help” and more “angry guy with a mic.” Breakups are everywhere this month: celebs, high school sweethearts, even your ex-roommate who swore she found the one before calling it quits as the air turned crisp. Welcome to the Sept-Oct Rut: an unspoken breakup season no one saw coming.

Peak Virgo season clarity

Virgo season is here, bringing clarity, analysis, and ruthless logic, and that doesn’t vibe with a lot of relationships. Couples run on seasonal energy, the way your playlists do (hello, Phoebe Bridgers). Summer is peak soft-launch season: fleeting romance, iced coffees, beach nights, and that “summer love” mindset (emphasis on summer, not love). Cute, but with an expiration date. Which is why September—and sometimes October—becomes the quiet cut-off point. Beach waves get swapped for work deadlines. Hot girl summer glow gets sidelined by festive season prep, and the fantasy fizzles out as quickly as it began.

Pre-cuffing season: uncuffing

Cuffing season is iconic—cosy nights and holiday parties are easier with someone to share them with. But before cuffing comes…uncuffing. Think of it as the pre-season purge, the relationship equivalent of clearing your wardrobe: out with the flimsy summer dresses, in with winter coats. If your situationship barely survived the heatwave, it won’t make it through a cold and emotionally loaded winter. The girl math here is simple: September and October are for reevaluating with logic. Long-term couples might survive, but if there’s even a flicker of underlying tension, this is when it surfaces.

Short and long-term reality check

This season sparks the ultimate question: “Do I actually want to spend Christmas and New Year’s with this person?” Cue spirals about the state of your relationship (or situationship). Once the haze of summer wears off and reality—work stress, exams, festive family obligations—creeps in, so does doubt. The long-term panic sets in: if I break up now, I don’t have to spend Christmas, NYE, or Valentine’s Day with them. Which, naturally, leads to the short-term panic of who will I spend those days with? Enter cuffing season, and the cycle starts all over again.

What it means for you

If you’re in a happy relationship, don’t go searching for red flags that aren’t there. The Sept-Oct Rut isn’t a curse; it’s just a natural reset point. For some couples, it reveals cracks that lead to breakups. For others, it becomes a moment to work through issues and come out stronger. And then there’s the third camp—the ones who decide singlehood during the holiday season is way better than faking smiles through family dinners. If you find yourself suddenly uncuffed in October? Flip the script. You’ve skipped the small talk stage and are free to do whatever you want.

To cuff or not to cuff—that’s the real seasonal question.

Lead image: Netflix 

Also read: Here's how to navigate cuffing season as a single person

Also read: Here's why women are not love-drunk anymore and choosing to be 'boy-sober'