Dr. Kerry Neal

Fontana, CA — Well, it’s June 2026, and in most places, temperatures are rising and vacation plans are evolving. Particularly in Southern California, there’s going to be a weekly pool party, BBQ, and an outdoor event of some kind. Not to mention, the summer seduction is hard to deny. Now everyone is wearing outfits that are typically far more revealing. In warmer-climate places like Los Angeles and Miami, it’s not that far of a stretch, but in places like New York, Chicago, and DC, where those places typically experience all four seasons in all their greatness, this could not be truer.

Now, what does any of this have to do with the price of tea in China?

Because if you’re seeking to get married or enter an exclusive relationship, you might want to pay attention to how you handle your summers. Are you less inclined to entertain the possibility of an exclusive dating relationship when you know all these parties, outings, concerts, and events are taking place in your city and beyond—filled with people of the opposite sex who you know are on the prowl? Are you able to maintain the integrity of your true desire to find the right person, or do you reserve that focus outside the guardrails of the warmer months?

Summer Breakups—Is that real?

There is some evidence that relationship behavior follows seasonal patterns, but the popular belief that people routinely dump partners in late spring simply to “roam freely” during the summer is only partially supported by research.

Several psychologists have proposed that warmer weather may increase:

• Social interaction
• Exposure to potential alternative partners
• Novelty-seeking behavior
• Dopamine activity is associated with excitement and reward

Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher has suggested that longer daylight hours, increased social activity, and greater sensory stimulation during summer may elevate dopamine and energy levels, encouraging people to reassess existing relationships.

In practical terms, summer often brings:

• Vacations
• Travel
• Festivals and social events
• More revealing clothing and physical attraction cues
• Greater opportunities to meet new people

Those factors can expose weaknesses that were already present in a relationship rather than create new problems from scratch.

Let’s talk “cuffing season.” The theory suggests that:

• People are more likely to seek committed relationships during colder months.
• Some of those relationships dissolve when spring and summer arrive, as people become more socially active.

While much of the discussion about cuffing season stems from cultural observation rather than rigorous academic research, the pattern has been widely noted by relationship researchers and social commentators.

Regarding faithfulness, researchers studying infidelity have identified opportunity, novelty, attraction to alternatives, and situational factors as major contributors to cheating.

Summer tends to increase many of those conditions:

• More travel
• More alcohol-centered social events
• More interaction with strangers
• More time away from partners
• Increased perceptions of sexual attractiveness

However, there is no definitive scientific consensus that says:

“Infidelity rates are X% higher in June, July, and August.”

The data simply are not strong enough to make that claim. What researchers can say is that many of the conditions associated with infidelity become more prevalent during warmer months.

There is also evidence that inquiries and searches related to divorce often increase during the summer. Some recent analyses found notable increases in searches for divorce attorneys during the warmer months, suggesting that relationship reevaluation may rise then. Moreover, many therapists report that summer functions as a “relationship stress test.”

Different vacation expectations increase social exposure, create more opportunities for comparison, and reduce routine and structure, creating this test, so to speak. Strong relationships often grow stronger through shared experiences. Weak or uncertain relationships often become more clearly weak. In other words, summer may not cause the breakup. Summer may simply reveal what winter was helping people ignore. Most people do not leave good relationships because the weather gets warm. They leave relationships that were already vulnerable when summer offers attractive alternatives, greater freedom, and more opportunities for comparison.

The Lesson: If you want to get married, especially if you know you’re attractive and want to start a family one day, summers may be a subtle impediment to those goals. You’ll mistake VIP access and bottle service invitations for marital desirability, and you’ll mistake having fun year after year in the summers for your marital market value. All of this takes time, and we all have only so much. This is particularly noteworthy for women who want to have children, for whom time is not on their side.

Trust me—I talk to women all the time (not so much the men) who regret not making marriage and committing to a relationship that could lead to marriage. They traded career success and adventure for building a family. This doesn’t have to be you. Navigate carefully, especially during the summer.