"Dear Prudence, I'm a single woman in my late 30s. I thought I was mostly done with the "wedding guest" stage of my life, but recently, there has been a huge second wave of engagements and weddings. During the "first wave" of weddings, I was in my 20s, unmarried but in relationships, and just assumed that it would be my turn eventually. It was easy for me to celebrate others' love, after all, my marriage was just around the corner!"
"I've been single for many years now. I've done everything they tell single women to do-I've gone to therapy, worked on myself, I have a vibrant social life, many hobbies, a good career, and so on. I'm not lonely or unfulfilled. But no amount of friends or hobbies can truly fill the void of a romantic partner (for someone who wants one)."
"I can put my feelings aside for the duration of the wedding, but without fail, I end up sobbing at home alone when it's over. I don't want to be the bitter single friend. I'm also not naive enough to think that I'm guaranteed to find a partner-I know that it's entirely possible that I won't, so the typical "you'll find love when you least expect it!" advice doesn't work on me."
A single woman in her late 30s faces a new wave of friends' engagements and weddings after an earlier period in her 20s when she expected to marry. She has been single for many years and has pursued therapy, self-work, a vibrant social life, hobbies, and a successful career. She reports not feeling lonely or unfulfilled but experiences a deep longing for romantic partnership and readiness for serious commitment. Weddings trigger intense envy and despair, leading to sobbing alone afterward. She rejects platitudes like "you'll find love when you least expect it" and asks how to move past these feelings to genuinely celebrate friends' relationships.
Read at Slate Magazine
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