"breakup" news and stories

With only a few days left until Valentine's, we thought that it would be fun to take a look at the role that food can play in our relationships with a little mini series leading into February 14th.

There are lots of reasons why couples break up and chances are that they don't always have to do with food (unless you changed your eating habits to impress someone with really restrictive diet and it just didn't work out), but it's not entirely uncommon for the relationship to - literally - end over food because some people like the restaurant breakup.

The restaurant breakup is just what it sounds like: a breakup in a restaurant. The reason that some people like to end their involvement over dinner is that they're hoping to avoid a scene, trying to use the food as a distraction and the other diners as a way to keep the fuss to a minimum. As long as they're picking up the tab, some of those doing the breaking up feel somewhat absolved of guilt - after all, s/he got a free meal!

In the movies, there is always one breakup restaurant, usually a quiet and dimly lit Italian place with women sobbing quietly into their risottos. Have you ever ended up in one of these restaurants, either as a party to the breakup or simply as a bystander? Would you break up in a restaurant?