The 5pm Dining blog often finds some odd emails in our inbox.

Last week, we were startled to receive a press release with the following heart-warming title: Red Tuesday: The top dumping day of the year is four days before Valentine’s Day!

According to IllicitEncounters.com (the UK’s largest and longest running dating site for married people, apparently), tomorrow is the most popular day for dumping your partner in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

Illicit Encounters surveyed some 3000 people and found that one in five had broken up with someone in the week leading up to St Valentine’s Day.

Spring clean

It seems that the period between Christmas and February is always a popular time for people to spring clean their love lives and there is a sharp increase in people breaking up with their partners four days before Valentine’s Day.

22% of people surveyed had admitted to breaking up with someone the week before Valentine’s Day, with the majority (473 of the 660) saying they made a clean break four days before the festival of love.

Love is not in the air

Illicit Encounters roped in a psychologist to investigate the survey’s findings:

‘There are many different reasons people make such a drastic decision so close to Valentine’s Day,’ explained Lucy Redford. ‘Some people realise how much they don’t love someone with the romanticism in the air; some buckle under the pressure of committing; others think they can probably do better if they’re not happy and because Valentine’s Day is a national celebration, it’s hard to ignore.’

Not surprisingly, a spokesperson for Illicit Encounters recommends that those who are unhappy in their relationships should have an affair.

Happily, the 5pm Dining blog is not so cynical. Rather than logging on for an affair, we recommend that you click on our Valentine’s Gift page.

An overnight stay at the gorgeous Greywalls or a spa experience with lunch at Mar Hall, could be just the ticket for reviving a romance that has started to wilt a little.