Why does he / she have 'It's complicated' as his / her relationship status on Facebook? - What does 'It's complicated' really mean?

Why would you have 'it's complicated' as your relationship status?

'It's complicated' is one of the most convenient Facebook relationship statuses ever thought up. There are many reasons why one would choose to use it or wouldn't approve of their boyfriend or girlfriend using it.

What 'It's Complicated' Says to the rest of the world or Facebook community

They have relationship problems.
The general idea behind the status - It's complicated, says that your relationship is complicated which means that you have issues or your relationship isn't the way it should be. it could even mean you're not sure whether or not you really are in a relationship and it's complicated to describe what's going on in your love life because you're neither single nor in a relationship.

They're separated or on 'a space'
This could make sense because you're not in a relationship completely or completely single. When you're on a space pr separation, you're somewhere in the middle.

They're on the verge of breaking up
Relationships are often 'complicated' before they end. There's the feelings of awkwardness, hurt, confusion, distance, separation or space and then they suddenly end completely.

They're in a 'friends with benefits' type of relationship
This is another good example of a complicated relationship. When you're in a 'friends with benifits' type of relationship, you're not single and you're not in a relationship either (you're more single than in a relationship but best described as - 'it's complicated).

Why he / she might be using it

It doesn't say that you're single and it doesn't say that you aren't.
Many prefer to use the term 'It's complicated' to describe their relationship because it doesn't say much. It doesn't say that you're single and it doesn't say that you're taken either. What it says is that your love life is complicated. With that being said, someone who doesn't want the girl or guy they fancy to know that they're in a relationship with someone else would have 'it's complicated' as their status because it doesn't put them in a certain position. They wouldn't be directly offending the person their in a relationship with or the one they wish they were in one with.

It allows you to look less desperate if you're single and less clingy if you aren't.
Some people, although single, would use this status because it makes you seem less desperate. Some people on Facebook love hitting on the 'single' people and when you just don't want the necessary attention or for someone you know has been waiting for you to be single to know that you eventually are, 'it's complicated' somehow does the trick.


It downplays embarrassment. 

If you were in a relationship with someone and you happen to break up and you don't wanna answer endless comments or in boxes asking you what happened, what went wrong or stating how happy you both seemed, it can be easier to have the it's complicated status the the single one.

It's less serious then 'In a relationship'

If he or she feels like the relationship isn't serious enough (similar to a fling or a friends with benefits) or maybe just not on that level YET, saying 'it's complicated' demonstrates that something is going on but not on a highly serious level.

The best way of finding out what his or her relationship status actually means is to ask. Asking couldn't hurt. Make it lighthearted: Say something like:
Complicated huh? What does that mean?
What's so complicated about your relationship?
I thought all relationships were complicated, what makes yours unique?

Or anything that could be interpreted as a joke but still warrants an answer.

Also read: Why won't he / she accept my relationship request on Facebook? 

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Posted by Jade