Relationship experts on the signs that it may be time to call it quits

When a relationship is not going well, knowing if it is better to end things does not always seem clear.

"People are often in a state of ambivalence or uncertainty for a long time — the should I stay, or should I go?" says Kassandra Mourikis, a sex and relationships therapist in Naarm/Melbourne.

She says they may go back and forth between a motivation to leave and reasons to stay.

Others might have an "ah-ha" moment and realise things are over, says Sian Khuman, a consultant psychologist and couple and family therapist.

But because "separating often isn't the easy answer", there can still be a delay between knowing the relationship is no longer sustainable and ending it.

"Even without children, and much harder with children, it's a painful process, financially hard to do, and often co