This Valentine's Day, Being Single Is The Biggest Flex

“In 2025, having a boyfriend became embarrassing.” When a popular lifestyle magazine published that line, it sparked a huge conversation. Not because it read like a joke or clickbait, but because it felt oddly accurate. A quiet cultural observation that landed harder than any dramatic hot take could. Because when was the last time you saw a boyfriend hard launch post and genuinely thought, 'Wow, goals'?

Couple content now feels staged, soft launches look suspicious. Somewhere along the way, the fantasy changed.

For years, women were told Valentine’s Day was a test. Being 'taken' meant success, while being single meant lacking. But now? Being single doesn’t feel like a waiting room. It feels like control.

And honestly, that might be the biggest flex in the room. It’s not anti-love. It’s anti- 'making one man your entire personality.'

Relationships often benefit men more

Relationship experts believe that single women are often happier and healthier than married women, while single men are lonelier than married men.

Married men live longer, earn more, and report better mental health. On the other hand, married women usually take on more housework, more emotional labour, and less time for themselves.

Women initiate nearly 70% of divorces in the United States, even when divorce costs them more financially.

Living alone often expands women’s lives. More hobbies, more friendships, more autonomy.

For many men, solitude feels isolating. Men tend to lean on one woman for everything. Women function in entire emotional ecosystems.

The icons clocked this years ago

Long before TikTok trends, some women were already living like this. Cher said it best: “My mom said to me, ‘You know, sweetheart, one day you should settle down and marry a rich man,’ and I said, ‘Mom, I am a rich man.’”

And then, even more bluntly, “I love men. I think men are the coolest. But you don't really need them to live.”

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Anna Wintour built an empire where her work is the headline. Nobody introduces her as someone’s partner. She is the institution.

Miley Cyrus turned heartbreak into Flowersand practically wrote a self-sufficiency anthem. “I can buy myself flowers” wasn’t petty; it was practical.

Taylor Swift converts breakups into billion-dollar tours and creative reinventions. None of these women look like they lost something. They look powerful.

You see it in Indian women, too. Sushmita Sen adopted her first daughter in her twenties, long before marriage was even in the picture. People questioned her constantly.

Neena Gupta did something even harder. She chose to raise a child outside marriage at a time when the industry and society were far less forgiving. She raised Masaba largely by herself and worked consistently to stay financially independent.

Their lives weren’t curated “strong woman” aesthetics. They were practical choices. 

The internet is over “boyfriend personality” syndrome

Around the world, women are also experimenting with opting out completely. South Korea’s 4B movement encouraged women to reject marriage and dating, not out of hatred, but exhaustion.

Less energy spent proving worth to men. More energy spent on money, self-growth, and community.

Gen Z calls it “boy sober.” The rule is simple: stop chasing, stop settling and stop restructuring your life for mediocre men. If love comes, great. If not, life is still full.

So yes, being single on Valentine’s Day is a flex

Love is great. Relationships can be beautiful. But needing one to feel complete is an outdated story women are finally done believing. So if you’re single this Valentine’s Day, don’t treat it like you’re missing out. Treat it like you’re exclusive. Because the most powerful place to be isn’t chosen. It’s choosing yourself.

Views expressed by the author are their own.