One in ten of us have been dumped by text message, a survey has revealed – and a quarter confess to having flirted with someone they shouldn’t in a text.

So it’s perhaps not surprising that a third admit to checking up on their partner by secretly reading the messages on their phone.

One in ten listen to their other half’s voicemail, and one in five check who they’ve called on their phone log.

And one in ten say they delete any suspicious texts to hide them from their partner.

It wasn’t all gloomy though. The survey, of 2,000 people by mobile phone site Recombu.com, also found 11 per cent of us have been asked out by text.

In 2008, Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston was reportedly sent a message from boyfriend John Mayer reading: 'That’s it - the end.'

In April last year, actor Charlie Sheen revealed that adult film star Rachel Olson had sent him a short message saying she wanted to end their two-month long relationship.

Pop star Britney Spears decided to use a text to tell her husband of two years, Kevin Federline, that she wanted a divorce.

And professional relationships are not immune, as Tiger Woods’s coach Hank Haney resigned via text after six years together.

Just like married TV presenter Vernon Kay and footballer Ashley Cole, nearly a quarter of Brits admit to using texts to flirt with someone off limits.

It comes as no surprise that mobile phone privacy is a top priority, with more than one in ten Brits admitting they keep their phone on them at all times.

Hannah Bouckley, editor of mobile phone site Recombu.com, which carried out the research, said: 'It is easier to write a few words and then sent it through a text and avoid confrontation.

'It is a bit of a cop-out. It is surprising to see someone like Jennifer Aniston being dumped via text because she could have her pick of men. It shows that nobody is immune.'

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)