Back-up partner
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A back-up partner, standby lover, or spare-tyre lover is a person anticipated as a potential future romantic/sexual partner in the event of the failure or unforeseen end of a current relationship. The main purpose of maintaining a back-up partner is to avoid ending up alone and heartbroken after breaking up with another lover.
The term "spare-tyre lover" (爱情备胎), has become popular on the Internet in China.[http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/shgj/gdxw/200910/23/t20091023_20258178.shtml，%22爱情备胎%22成校园男女减压阀 不愿一棵树上吊死]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.{{cite web|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/11/20/do-you-have-a-back-up-partner-waiting-on-the-sidelines|title=Do you have a "back-up" partner waiting on the sidelines?|date=20 November 2014|publisher=}} A study from 2014 found that Facebook users in relationships often used the site to maintain platonic friendships they felt could become replacement relationships if required, with men having such contacts at roughly twice the rate of women.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/03/back-up-husbands-emotional-affairs-and-the-rise-of-digital-infidelity/|title='Back-up husbands,' 'emotional affairs' and the rise of digital infidelity|newspaper=Washington Post}}
Social context
An unstable current relationship may lead people to seek back-up lovers, particularly long-distance relationships.{{cite web|url=http://www.chsa.org.cn/qpgzl_end.asp?id=241|title=校园备胎族：感情的不忠还是安全感的缺失|access-date=2015-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129025622/http://www.chsa.org.cn/qpgzl_end.asp?id=241|archive-date=2013-01-29|url-status=dead}} Some people gain personal confidence from having a back-up lover, appreciating the fact that they are being admired by more than one person.{{cite web|url=http://www.elcrema.com/2014/09/29/4-reasons-women-have-backup-lovers/5/|title=4 REASONS WOMEN HAVE BACKUP LOVERS|date=29 September 2014|publisher=|access-date=20 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402185252/http://www.elcrema.com/2014/09/29/4-reasons-women-have-backup-lovers/5/|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}