Why it’s OK to be the Single Friend!

Me trying to subtly announce to the boys of Clapham that I am single and available

Since I split up with my ex, and only boyfriend I’ve ever had in 2015, I’ve been THE SINGLE FRIEND. I’m fortunate to have had the same group of friends since I was in college (almost 10 years!) and during university, everyone started to get boyfriends, some serious, some not. But as we got older, and the relationships officially got to the ‘long-term’ status, my status stayed the same, single.

At first it didn’t bother me, I was 23, I was living away from home, I went out with my other single friends, did what I want, pulled who I wanted- it was the dream! I loved being single.

However, in the last couple of years I’ve been having second thoughts. I felt myself getting jealous of seeing couples doing cute stuff together and starting to actually create a future together. Not just people on Instagram with their outrageous baby showers and date nights, but my own best friends! Buying houses, having babies, getting engaged, serious stuff!

I mean, everyone gets to that point, around 8pm when the Sunday night dread kicks in and you just wanna order Dominos and Netflix and chill with someone you fancy, but I felt a bit left out. One of my friends had an engagement party last year, and we all met up at the pub beforehand- 6 couples and me. Fortunately, one of the girls’ boyfriends couldn’t make it so we were in the same boat- but talk about reality check!!!!!

I recently used the question feature on my Instagram for people to reveal their worst ever date, and as well as being one of the funniest things I’ve EVER read, it made me think about all the failed, hilariously tragic dates I had been on. I couldn’t even imagine any of those boys getting a second date, never mind being my boyfriend! As much as I love my friends to pieces, and I am SO proud of them, I’m 26. I live in London where I am meeting new people every day. Yeah, I get needy on a Sunday night but I’ve got housemates I can climb into bed with and eat junk food with, and it’s not like my friends are uncontactable just because they have a boyfriend. They’re exactly the same.

Yeah, when the time is right, and I meet someone I actually want to go on a second date with (and third and fourth and fifth) then YOU BET I’ll be uploading photos of us at the top of the Eiffel Tower orriding a Gondola in Venice, or having a swanky dinner anniversary dinner at Roka or Hakkasan (or another restaurant that’s WAY to expensive to justify for a casual dinner with friends) but for now I’m going to stop letting my relationship status affect me and carry on snogging boys in Infernos at 3am on a Saturday night.

Joking.

Maybe.