Sunderland is UK’s ‘ghosting’ capital however it’s excellent news for dedicated lovers in York

Think you’ve seen the back of ghosts and zombies for another year? Well, if you’re dating there’s a good chance you haven’t.

Not only is ghosting a thing for almost half of singletons, zombie-ing is becoming increasingly common, as is haunting and phantom-flirting.

Research commissioned by Tango Cherry, sees 60% of 18-24-year-olds admit to ‘ghosting’ someone – cutting off all contact without warning, there are those who have second thoughts and resort to ‘zombie-ing’ – sliding back into our DM’s and our lives without any apology or explanation.

Then there are the old flames who don’t want to go full Zombie and get in touch, but instead ‘haunt’ you by keeping a watchful eye on your socials without reaching out.

The phantom-flirts are another nightmare, sending subtle but confusing signals of interest that go nowhere at all.

Tango Cherry, which ghosted the British public six years ago when it disappeared without warning before slipping back onto the shelves and into the hands of adoring fans this year, shines a scary light on the nation’s dating habits.

The survey of 2,000 British adults found almost half (43%) have experienced the unsettling experience of being ghosted, with women slightly more likely to have been abruptly cut off (47%) than men (40%). Over a quarter (26%) accepted it was just a hazard of dating and most realised it was more likely to happen if they hadn’t yet met face to face.

Daters in Sunderland are most likely to be ghosted (70%) while York, which famously inspired Dracula’s author Bram Stoker, is now home to the least number of modern ghosts (22%).

Despite 65% saying they found ghosting unacceptable in most scenarios, nearly half (46%) believe it is a perfectly acceptable way to punish a cheat.

Young people aged 18-24 used a loss of interest (40%) or a ‘vibe mismatch’ (34%) as excuses and almost one in three of them (30%) believed you had to go off radar for at least 10 days to officially ghost someone. It is even fair game for 11% to ghost someone they have already declared as an ‘exclusive’ partner.

On the flip side, nearly half of youngsters (46%) have been zombied themselves and almost one in three (30%) have fallen for phantom-flirting.

But not many exes can expect to get a warm welcome back like Tango Cherry. Over half (58%) would shun a Zombie who decides to make a comeback after slipping off into the shadows.

However, showing it pays to be honest, 36% of men would be willing to give a past relationship another try as long as they hadn’t been ghosted as would 23% of women.

Tango Cherry which launched exclusively in Iceland back in August 2024 is now available nationwide in major retailers.