If you're wondering why I'm single—which I guess you're not, because the average person doesn't look at bylines and assumes articles online spring directly from the void—it's because I'm enjoying my solitude.
I also live alone and certainly enjoy it!
Everyone has their reasons; some are more complicated than others, as we saw once these people shared their stories.
People let us know what's up after Redditor SnorkelLord asked the online community:
"Why are you still single?"
"Severe..."
"Severe lack of even trying."
Argonum22
Honestly? People are exhausting. I get it.
"Have not looked..."
"Emotionally closed off, low self esteem, overweight, and work 80 hours / week. Have not looked for anyone and don’t want to."
nokarmaforkittybear
Sorry to hear about your low self esteem. Even if you don't want to date anyone, getting to a place where you are happier with yourself can make all the difference.
"I don't have..."
"I don't have a wide enough social circle. I mostly only hang out with a small group of dudes in similar places in their lives to me. It's a situation I want to work on fixing, but it's been difficult through a pandemic."
Colyer
That would do it. Expanding your social circle is very important if you want to meet anyone regardless of whether you're dating or not.
"Married the love of my life..."
"Married the love of my life and he died... don't think I`ll ever find something that good again, so I dont even bother looking."
sphscl
Sorry for your loss. That is devastating.
"I'm socially awkward..."
"I'm socially awkward, boring, shy and my life isn't really the best to expect another person to enter my life so I just don't try anymore."
[deleted]
Give yourself a little more credit!
"I have no idea..."
"I have no idea how to express interest to any of the women I've ever been interested in, so I just end up becoming friends with them and the crush eventually goes away and I start over at square one."
[deleted]
Putting yourself out there is no small feat! It can be scary for many, in fact.
"I've never been invited..."
"Complete lack of self-confidence, I've never been invited to a social event of any type where it could happen there and past attempts to approach women have failed."
CDJernee
You've never been invited? I'll invite you!
"Because I hate myself..."
"Because I hate myself and people can tell."
cohonan
People can definitely spot when someone isn't particularly self assured.
"It's like giving up."
"I enjoy being single enough that I will not "settle" for somebody I'm not all that into, like I've seen most people in my life do, pairing up just out of fear they can't do any better, and going through the motions of marriage and kids together. That sort of life looks like a living hell. It's like giving up."
TopRoyal6249
Maintain those standards. Too many people make the mistake of getting married to the wrong person and pay for it dearly in the end.
"I'm worried..."
"I'm worried that cancer is too much to bring to any new relationship. Changes to my body such as losing my hair have truly affected my self confidence."
Lauren12269
Living with an illness as severe as cancer can hurt the self confidence of anyone.
Dating can be daunting. Pursuing a long term relationship? Even more so. Plenty of people have their reasons for not being coupled, and that's okay. It's important to remember that being in a relationship should not be the "be all end all."
Have a story of your own to share? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
@lpeterp/Bluesky
@FPWellman/X
@bobsbeatgmail.com5/Threads