When couples break up, different ways of broaching the subject include meeting in person, doing it via email, by phone, seeing the relationship die a natural death, or even getting a friend to do it for you. A relationship 'dying out naturally' is when you don't get any contact at all from your partner, and without even exchanging parting words the romance ends. For example, when a couple in a long-distance relationship find that distance means opportunities to meet each other and talk are few and far between, often the passion "naturally" fizzes out without either party saying anything. With a couple entering a phases when they have become weary of one another, when it has become a chore to even start a conversation you can tell from their everyday attitude that a "natural death" is on the way. Recently, rather than splitting up by phonecall, or meeting in person, letting one's partner know via email is on the increase. Reasons for this trend include 'it's better not to have to see your partner's face', 'it's difficult to say when you hear their voice', 'with an email you can gather your thoughts and prepare carefully what you want to say', 'you can finish it without saying unnecessary things', you can break-up swiftly without having to engage in never-ending discussions', or even just 'meeting has become tedious'.
