Our hypothesis on the molecular relaxation of the 3 n,π* states is shown in Figure ; the aromatic -component strives to keep the S0 geometry whereas the α-component prefers to distort to release antiaromaticity. To analyze the effect of structural relaxation on the aromaticity of the 3 n,π* states, we optimized the 3 n,π* geometries of 1 -9. Compound 5 is, however, not considered since it is non-aromatic in S0. In line with the tug-of-war hypothesis, two main behaviours were observed. First, in one set of heteroaromatics (1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, section 3.5 of the SI), the antiaromaticity of the -component is reduced significantly, but at the same time the aromatic -component is also clearly diminished. For example, during geometry optimization in its to MCI(S0) only decreases from 59% to 58%) while the paratropic πα-electron current decreases (from -89.4 to -36.8 nA T -1 ) and the diatropic πβ-electron current remains almost the same (from 5.9 to 6.1 nA T -1 ). Unfortunately, classification in one or the other set is not related to the extent of (anti)aromatic character of the residual in the vertical n,* state (e.g., 4 with an aromatic residual and 6 with a residual that tends toward antiaromaticity belong to the same set). Other factors, such as the preferred valence angle of a certain E atom or changes in exchange interaction upon excitation, should also play relevant roles.