Single, and figuring out what that means for you.
For the in-between: after someone, before someone, or happily neither. What being single in your twenties is actually like.
Questions we answer
Worth reading elsewhere
Full reading list →Single nowPew Research Center, 2020
A profile of single Americans (opens pewresearch.org)Data on who is single, who is looking, and why most singles under 30 are not in a hurry.
Post-breakup lonelinessScientific American
How to Recover from Romantic Heartbreak (opens scientificamerican.com)Research-backed steps for getting through heartbreak, including why replaying the good memories slows recovery.
Leaving someoneThe Gottman Institute
How to Know When Breaking Up Is the Healthiest Choice (opens gottman.com)Concrete signs that a relationship has stopped repairing itself, to help you decide whether to stay or go.
How we work
- Sourced. Every claim links to the research or data behind it.
- Dated. Each article shows when it was written and last updated.
- Independent of ads. No ads, no sponsored rankings, no paid placements.
- Honest about limits. We say what the research does not show. Editorial standards
Tool: the 8-question pattern check
Eight questions about the last few people you dated. You get one of nine pattern cards. It runs in your browser and nothing is saved.