Bad news: You’ll never, ever be rid of that one lingering, on-and-off relationship

You know that guy? The one you met last year at your friend's birthday party? You started sleeping with each other until he sat you down in a patronizing manner to say "I can't do this anymore."

You — unsure of what he meant by "this" — rolled your eyes, re-downloaded Tinder, and three months later received a suspicious "How are you?" text from him the same day you posted a gram with someone else.

Oh, and two weeks later you were fucking again.

Well, congratulations! You're officially, certifiably average. Because according to new research, the average millennial relationship consists of 4.2 years of ups, downs and in-betweens.

I know what you're thinking: I haven't even made it with someone for 4.2 months. What are you talking about years?

But that's because this study knows millennial relationships come with pauses: She has a new job, his ex moved to town and wants to work things out, she needs to figure herself out, he's having a quarter life crisis and wants to make sure he's not "missing out."

So after three consecutive months of dating, you take one or two off until things at the new job settle down, or he suddenly remembers he was seeing you because he liked you.

The research shows that 60 percent of 20-year-olds report having at least one on-again off-again person in their life, which is good and bad news — it means you're not alone in the mess of it all, but it also means there are more breakups to come. Even though the average relationship lasts 4.2 years, it'll probably happen over the course of about six, because it's cumulative, not consecutive.

Next time you'll be the one who "can't do this anymore," and he'll be the one posing with another girl on gram.

But in reality, none of it means anything. Because that "thing" you thought was over — it's not. And you actually still both have a long emotional rollercoaster ahead of you. Doesn't that sound fun?

@carolinephinney