When my long-term relationship ended in 2021, I didn’t know how to be single. After six years in a relationship (which I’d entered at 18), the idea of being on my own – of not having someone attached to me – felt unbelievably strange. I didn’t know who single me was, let alone how to navigate life in her shoes. What would I do with all the spare time and energy I’d been left with?

It didn’t take long for the world to give me an answer. Whether I was watching a TV show, scrolling through social media or talking with my friends, the messaging was the same: being single was an opportunity to work on myself and my independence – to get to know who I was without anyone else in the picture. At first, I embraced this wholeheartedly, and it was great. I learned things about myself I didn’t know before and rediscovered parts of myself I’d forgotten existed. I went on holidays with friends, chased exciting opportunities at work and tried new things. I got it.

That was until the second half of last year, when I started to feel a little out of sorts. No matter how much self-love I showered myself with, I couldn’t ignore my growing need for connection and intimacy. But after celebrating my single status for so long, I felt uncomfortable admitting that it wasn’t enough. I’d put the work in, but here I was, dreaming of a relationship. Did that mean I’d failed? It certainly felt like it.