Amy Roullier is a British writer and author of Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart. Through her blog, she challenges the negative stereotypes surrounding being single, while candidly sharing her experiences with mental health, personal losses, and the complex, often misunderstood realities of adulthood.
I used to see single as a situation to survive. It’s taken me years to get to a point of being able to say, ‘I love being single,’ and really mean it.
It’s not been easy to trek for sure. However, it has been a lifechanging one. Which all started the moment I began to look at single as something other than a status I needed to do everything in my power, to change. I embraced being single, and in doing so worked my towards thrive rather than survive.
You wake early to sunlight seeping through the window,birds chirping softly outside.No rush, just peace in this quiet moment,as you slowly unfurl yourself from the duvet,taking your time. Scrambled eggs and coffee sound perfect,so you make both, just the way you like.It’s a blue-sky morning, and you take your breakfast outside,soaking in the calm and warmth. Inside, you feel at peace. The day ahead is yours to shape as you …
When I moved into my first solely owned house post-divorce at 32, I was buzzing. My own place to do whatever the hell I liked with, how bloody exciting! And then I quickly realized that I didn’t have a frigging clue how to do any of the things I wanted to do. Even the seemingly simple tasks like hanging up a mirror in my living room, I didn’t know where …
I mean categorically, yes. That wasn’t a trick question. For anyone who’s spent any length of time in the world of online dating I know you’ll agree, it’s utter shit. I thought upgrading to digital was supposed to make life easier? But when it comes to online dating, it’s added a whole load of extra. And that extra is exhausting as fuck, self-depleting, terrible for any kind of self-worth, and …
Rewind back to 2016, when I was 31, going through a divorce, and newly single. I didn’t plan to be single in my 30s of course, but there it was. Singledom. Suddenly feeling so much more irreversible than it had in my teens or 20s. Would I be single forever? Who knew. But what I did learn, is that a lot of people don’t understand being single at all and …
Being honest, I only started considering the idea of dating myself after a long string of dating failures and bad relationships. I’d become accustomed to these repeated cycles and it sucked, big time. But generally, I’ve been much better at seeking out highs from other people, than I have been at making myself happy. However, that was something I needed to change. Because like any relationship, I began to realize …
Situationships. The whole, ‘We’ve been sleeping together for a while, may have romantic feelings towards one another, but definitely aren’t, together’. A situationship is a relationship that isn’t a relationship at all. They’ve become a dating trend for me over the past seven years and I’ve found it a pretty destructive situation. But apparently situationships are also a post covid dating movement. Dating app Hinge, found that a third of …
I’m really over dating. Not just slightly deterred or a little pessimistic but totally, resolutely out. Earlier this year an Ex from two and a half years ago knocked on my door. No pre-warning text message. Actually turned up on my doorstep live and in person. He’d driven forty miles, sat for twenty minutes in his car stressing about what would happen when I answered (and whether I even still …
I’ve spent the past year concentrating on self-care. Setting boundaries, making decisions that are healthy and not harmful, practicing a little self-love and meaningful mindfulness. I’ve been reclaiming (and establishing) a strong self-concept. However, the return of the Ex always feel like the ultimate test to that kind of inner soul work. They seem to pop up out of nowhere when you least expect with a nonchalant, “Hey, how are …
For the last ten months I’ve been working on some serious (-ly lacking) boundaries, prioritizing self-care and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Part of that journey has involved getting really comfortable spending some alone with myself. So far I’ve tackled solo cinema outings, unaccompanied gigs, coffee and dinners by myself, solitary UK weekends away, and a whole heap of unaccompanied adventures and events. But I hadn’t yet tackled …
