The Drama of the Disqualifying Statement

A relationship can end in an instant if you say the wrong thing.

Photo by Everett Bartels on Unsplash

In 1996, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a diary entry for Slate about his theory of “The Disqualifying Statement.” In a nutshell, a romantic relationship can end in an instant if someone says something the other person finds immediately disqualifying, even if the statement isn’t an objectively…