Rory has realized that she and Brooke seem to increasingly find fault with one another and engage in coercive conflict. Despite the increase is conflict, they still see one another just as often. Rory and Brooke are at which stage of relationship de-escalation?

Rory and Brooke are at the stage called stagnation.

Explanation:

Mark Knapp studied relationships, concluding that, even though we have varied relationships in our lives, they all follow a similar pattern. When developing a relationship, there are five stages: initiation, experimentation, intensifying, integration, and bonding. There are also five stages when a relationship begins to deteriorate: differentiating, circumscribing, stagnation, avoidance and termination.

During the stagnation phase, the couple feels trapped in their relationship. They are usually unable to leave or break up due to reasons they believe to be strong (having children, for instance). Interactions become scarce, since they begin to predict what their partner will say, how they will react, and how they will end up fighting. Yet, at this stage they usually still have some hope that the relationship will be revived.