Study Reveals How Many People Are Willing To Abandon Their Partner For $1 Million
And they say romance is dead…
RealPeopleStudio | Shutterstock Love and companionship are priceless, right? That's what we're all supposed to say at least, but it turns out that's not remotely true for, like, A LOT of people! A frankly surprising number of people, in fact, according to a recent study.
If you've ever felt guilty about musing about how much money you'd be willing to bail on your beloved for, stop beating yourself up, because a new study found that a ton of us Americans are basically faking it in our relationships. Or we would be, anyway, if a huge chunk of cash were on the table.
The survey found 43% of Americans would abandon their partner for $1 million.
Okay, that's A LOT of people. Whew! And the gag is, $1 million isn't that much money in today's screwball economy! This is actually very dark, if you think about it, so let's not. Let's just focus on the data in this dystopian tale.
The survey was conducted by Canadian casino company Gamblizard (of all things), and fittingly given the name, they found a whole lot of us are willing to act like scaly, slimy reptiles and be like "babe, it's over" if someone offered us $1 million.
Now personally, I have questions. Am I allowed to go back to my partner afterward and be like "LOL I was totes JK but good news we're rich now, or we will be in 10 years when these investments mature anyway, let's get married?" This affects how I answer the question of whether I do this, because while I am an incurable romantic at heart, these student loans are not gonna pay themselves. Anyway, buckle up because this wasn't even the wildest statistic.
People also said they were willing to cause financial ruin to someone else if it benefited them.
The rest of the survey digs even deeper into how broken our economy is or how broke we Americans ourselves are, depending on your view. Another 40% said they'd be willing to cause complete and utter financial ruin for someone else if it meant they'd get $33 million.
And listen, I want to pretend like I'm better than this, but I'm not. HOWEVER, I would immediately go to the person whose ruin was caused and give them a couple mill out of my $33 million, which I think puts me in the moral clear.
At the very least, I'd be like the other 46% of those asked, who said that whether or not they'd take the $33 million would depend on who exactly was being financially ruined. Which is actually the smarter move than what I just said, because if they truly deserve it, why part with any of your $33 million? I amend my answer!
Basically, Americans would do anything for a huge payday, according to the survey.
If you can believe it, it gets darker from here. You know that show "Squid Game" where humans are basically, like, hunted for sport by some kind of giant robot or something? (I have never seen the show, but that is what the previews make it look like the show is about, and I will not be Googling it to fact-check because being wrong will just make this funnier.)
Nearly half of those surveyed said they'd be willing to be the hunted themselves for that $33 million, despite the show's apparent 99% death rate. Those odds really do reveal some things about the American psyche, don't they? It's like that old Steinbeck quote about how most Americans assume they are "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" despite the fact that only 1% of us ever get close to that kind of money. Guess we're just eternal optimists or something?
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Americans are also willing to be publicly embarrassed on live television or social media for $33 million, but here's where it gets the most "yikes" of all. While it would take $33 million for 81% to humiliate themselves, 48% would do it for just $1 million, 13% would do it for $5,000 or less, and 4% would do it for $500.
Public humiliation for $500?! Hoo boy, we are down BAD. But lest you be disturbed, Americans did tell the weird Canadian casino company that they do at least have limits: 10% said the money wouldn't be worth it if they weren't allowed to show it off, and 21% said they wouldn't be willing to sacrifice their social media accounts for $1 million. Wait, valuing attention more than money? Nevermind, these are the saddest statistics of all. Help!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
