Four signs you’re in a toxic relationship as Katie Price shares ‘patterns’
Katie Price has spoken of a domestic abuse course that helped her understand "patterns" in her "toxic" relationship history.
The mother of five, 46, said on The Louis Theroux Podcast that the course has taught her how to "detect controlling" behaviour and that she’s never been in a "normal healthy relationship."
"My downfall – I’ve had to learn all this in therapy – is men, because I jump from one to the other to the other," she said. "I need that neediness and then I end up in a toxic relationship, narcissist or gaslighting."
She said the course helped her to understand "red flags" in a relationship, as she added: "I’ve learned it’s the wrong men that I’ve picked. A lot of men don’t like independent women because they’re not in control, and I’m very independent."
Calm describes a toxic relationship as "one that consistently undermines your sense of wellbeing, happiness, and, at times, safety." While healthy conflict is normal in any relationship, there are "patterns of emotional harm, disrespect and manipulation" that wouldn’t exist in healthy, loving relationships.
Sue Armstrong, clinical services manager at relationship support charity, Relate tells Yahoo UK: "A relationship becomes unhealthy when one or both partners engage in behaviours that undermine each other’s well-being. Unhealthy relationships often involve patterns of control, manipulation, or disrespect.
"Rather than encouraging mutual support, intimacy, and growth, these relationships can drain energy, harm self-esteem, and create a hostile or damaging emotional environment. There may be an unbalanced power dynamic where one partner doesn’t feel safe or able to trust the other."
Here are four of the key signs you're in a toxic relationship:
1. Feeling anxious
"One of the most commonly overlooked signs of a toxic relationship is feeling anxious or "walking on eggshells" around your partner, blaming yourself for ‘getting it wrong,’" Armstrong explains.
"If you constantly adjust your behaviour to avoid conflict or keep the peace, it suggest that the relationship may lack the emotional safety necessary for open communication." This is often downplayed but it's a subtle sign that something isn't right.
2. Constant criticism and manipulation
"Some key signs of a ‘toxic’ relationship include constant criticism or contempt, where a partner undermines your self-esteem, and attempts to control or manipulate aspects of your life," Armstrong continues. A healthy relationship should make you feel safe, confident and still have your autonomy and freedom without being monitored or manipulated to do something differently.
3. Lack of trust
Healthy relationships are built on a foundation of trust, love and respect, if there isn't any trust, only jealousy, then this can be very toxic. Armstrong continues: "A lack of trust, frequent emotional highs and lows that leave you feeling drained, and isolation from friends or family are also common indicators."
4. Feeling unsafe
If you are ever concerned about your physical or mental wellbeing during a relationship and feel unsafe, this is a concern. "If your relationship consistently leaves you feeling anxious, unsupported, or unsafe, these are strong signs that the dynamic may be unhealthy," Armstrong adds.
Read more about relationships:
My boyfriend lovebombed me, then used coercive control to take over my life (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
My ex was a narcissist, it took me two years to recover from his abuse (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
Sexual health doctor reveals the six questions you should ask a new partner (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
