The Bad Habits We Caught From Our Exes

Breaking up is hard. Whether you're the dumped, or the dumper, it can be a slow and difficult transition into living apart. The first hurdle after the finish line is returning miscellaneous items to one another; records, underwear, books, toothbrushes, vases and video games – the detritus of what once was.

Then one member of the band formerly known as "couple" might find some stray merchandise, like a sock, and the fallout can range from a simple discarding of the item, to the formation of a sad shrine in worship of said inanimate object.

Beyond physical objects, we carry traces of our loves with us every day. Maybe we don't realise, but we do. Maybe they brought into our lives a love of sashimi, superstitious feelings towards magpies, or a penchant for Otis Redding. Whatever those things are, we take them with us, mostly unwittingly, into our future selves.

But what of the bad habits we contract that aren't nearly as sweet as knowing all the lyrics to "Try A Little Tenderness"? What about the really terrible habits we pick up from our exes that our mates are too shy, or blissfully unaware, to point out. From smoking weed, to eating in bed and arguing in public, we asked a cross-section of people what they suspect might really be the naughtiest trait they've held onto from a past relationship.