Hometown Hookups: The Unspoken Holiday Reunion

Every year, millions of Americans head home for the holidays, and for some, that return trip sparks more than just cozy memories. Hometown hookups are a surprisingly common part of the holiday ritual, blending nostalgia, desire, and the thrill of old flames. To understand how often these flings happen and what drives them, we surveyed over 1,100 US adults who have visited their hometowns and rekindled romantic connections in the past 5 years.

Whether it's sneaking out of a family dinner or DMing an old crush in advance, the findings reveal how people plan, pursue, and process these seasonal sparks.

Key takeaways

• 53% of Americans have hooked up with someone from their hometown during a holiday visit.
• 50% of Americans say they've lied to sneak away for a holiday hookup.
• More than 7 in 10 people say they plan ahead for hometown hookups, often via social media.
• Nearly 2 in 5 Americans have extended a holiday trip just to spend more time with a hometown fling.

Hooking up over the holidays

Some holiday traditions never make the family photo album.

• 53% of Americans have hooked up with someone from their hometown while visiting for the holidays. Among them, 37% were married, 36% were single, and 21% were in relationships.
• 4% of baby boomers, 19% of Gen X, 56% of millennials, and 21% of Gen Z have had a hometown hookup.
• Almost half of hometown hookups (47%) take place with a former partner/ex.
• 50% of Americans have lied to their family or friends to sneak away for a hometown hookup.
• Nearly 2 in 5 Americans (38%) have extended a holiday trip just to spend more time with a hometown fling.
• About 1 in 3 Americans (30%) view these hometown connections as a personal holiday tradition, and another 9% are starting to.

Tradition or temptation?

Sometimes, it's planned. Other times, it's purely heat-of-the-moment.

• More than 7 in 10 Americans (72%) reach out to someone before traveling home in hopes of meeting up, but nearly half of hometown hookups (45%) have been spontaneous.
• These outreaches most often take place on social media via a like or direct message (29%), a Facebook message (29%), or an Instagram story (28%).
• 37% of Americans don't rely on social media to facilitate their hometown hookups.

Why Holiday Hookups Happen

• Over 1 in 3 Americans engaging in hometown hookups do so because of boredom or nostalgia (34%). The same number say it's about physical attraction (34%).
• Women (40%) are more likely than men (29%) to hook up out of boredom or nostalgia.
• Married Americans are the most likely to engage in hookups due to genuine romantic chemistry, compared to single or other coupled individuals.
• Baby boomers (22%) are the most likely to have a holiday hookup because of genuine romantic chemistry, compared to Gen Z (19%), millennials (16%), and Gen X (14%). Gen X was the most likely to say it's just something to do while in town.
• LGBTQ Americans are more likely than heterosexual Americans to say their hometown hookups are due to boredom or nostalgia. In contrast, heterosexual Americans are more likely to say they're due to physical attraction.

Afterglow or awkward?

When it comes to holiday hookups, the morning after can be complicated.

• 45% of Americans who engage in hometown hookups say it has happened more than once with the same person, while about 1 in 10 people say they've hooked up with different people over different years.
• LGBTQ Americans are more than twice as likely as heterosexual Americans to have hooked up with different people over different years (18% vs. 7%).
• Nearly 1 in 3 Americans say hometown hookups bring a mix of stress and excitement during the holidays.
• Married Americans are the most likely to experience stress from hometown hookups, but also the most likely to say they cause excitement, compared to single or other coupled Americans.
• Heterosexual Americans are 3x more likely than LGBTQ Americans to say hometown hookups are stressful (6% vs. 2%).

What Happened After the Hookup?

• 21% of hometown hookups resulted in relationships, and some couples are still together. But the majority of hometown hookups (62%) stay in the friend zone.
• Gen Z was the least likely to say they've stayed friendly with their hookups (57%), compared to 60% of millennials, 61% of baby boomers, and 74% of Gen X.
• Baby Boomers and millennials (11%) were the most likely to have developed a long-term relationship with a hometown hookup, compared to Gen X (9%) and Gen Z (8%).
• 1 in 10 Americans engaging in hometown hookups have been caught sneaking out to visit someone's house during the holidays, with heterosexual Americans being about twice as likely as LGBTQ Americans to report this (11% vs. 5%).
• LGBTQ Americans were more likely than heterosexuals to say they don't sneak out (18% vs. 15%).
• Nearly 1 in 3 Americans who've had hometown hookups say they'd think twice before doing it again, and over 1 in 10 regret it and would avoid it in the future.

Methodology

We surveyed 1,108 Americans, 474 of whom had visited their hometown and hooked up with someone there in the past 5 years. Among them, 53% were men, and 47% were women; 37% were married, 36% were single, 21% were in a relationship, 3% said "it's complicated," and 2% were engaged. Generationally, 4% percent were baby boomers, 19% were Gen X, 56% were millennials, and 21% were Gen Z. Eighty-eight percent identified as heterosexual, 7% as bisexual, 3% as gay, 2% as pansexual, and 1% as lesbian.

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