This model depicts five stages of intimacy development (coming together) and five stages in which people distance themselves from each other (coming apart).

Knapp's Relational Development Model

Explanation:  

This model shows the stages of relationships through two stages:

Coming together

Impressions are made at this stage. These initial impressions shape whether or not the relationship moves to a later stage. Impressions are drawn from physical appearance, smells and early behavioral patterns such as politeness.

After initial impressions create decisions for furtherance of the relationship, parties involved begin to look out for common interests.

When a considerable number of common interests have been identified, involved parties begin to spend more time together, exchanging more personal information and the initial attachment begins.

Involved parties start ‘rubbing off’ on one another. They spend even more time together and character traits begin to integrate.

In this stage, the parties may choose to make the status of their form of relationship defined to one another in clear terms and formalized.  

Coming apart

In the coming together process, the interests that so aligned become different. The pressures of daily living or the evolving of personalities make individual parties grow  apart.

The bond established which erased boundaries and personal spaces begins to diminish and so, parties begin to have separate spaces, share items less and set limitations.

In this stage, there is a separation already but the relationship still persists, perhaps in the hope of having it get better or out of pity. The relationship stops growing and each party begins to accept the reality of  the limitations in the relationship.

At this stage, the time so craved to be spent together in the coming together stage is done away with and involved parties are in physical contact much less.

This is the stage where involved parties put an end to the relationship as the drift is complete and they go their separate ways.