When families gather for the holidays, it’s often agreed that politics won’t be discussed to avoid adding acrimony to complicated family dynamics.  

And judging from a recent survey by Stagwell’s Harris Poll, it might not be a bad idea for early-on daters—especially younger ones—to avoid the topic as well.  

In the survey, 28% of Gen Z said they had broken up with someone over differing political beliefs. 

Although an alternative to avoidance might be to disclose one’s political inclinations on the first date. According to the poll 24% of Gen Z said the subject had come up then.  

That said, some 16% of the overall poll admitted to lying about their political views. 

For older demos, differing politics appears to be less of a flashpoint in romantic relationships. Nearly half of Millennials and Gen X indicated that they have been in a serious relationship with someone that had different political views than their own. The poll didn’t ask if they lived happily ever after.

56% of Republicans said they would date a Democrat while 43% of Democrats said they would date a Republican.