No desire to commit, not having found the right person yet, or no time for love—there are numerous reasons why some people don’t have a partner by their side. There are currently around 20 million single women and men living in Germany. But surprisingly, it is women who are coping better with single status than men.
Being single has its advantages: you can do whatever you want, you have no obligations, and you can concentrate fully on your own life. However, you don’t have anyone to go through life with you, who will fall asleep with you, and who is simply there when you need them. In a survey of 7,000 singles, “ElitePartner” found that men in particular have a problem with being single in the long term.
Women count on friends.
Women are usually happier being single than men, explains single coach Lisa Fischbach. “They also get closeness and security from close friendships, while single men often miss this connection. For this reason, women are relaxed about their single life and are under less pressure to find a new partner than men.” Incidentally, women are also more concerned with self-determination in relationships than men.
Men are in a greater hurry to find a partner than vice versa. One in three single men is certain that he will enter into a new relationship within the next one to three months. Women, on the other hand, see themselves as long-term singles: 35 percent of single women assume that a year or more will pass before they find a partner again. Only 24 percent of women are convinced that being single will only last for a short time.
The older, the longer alone
The “ElitePartner” study also found that single women and men are more optimistic about love the younger they are: while only one in five under 29 expects to be single for more than a year, the figure for those over 45 is 42 percent.
Not only are men more unhappy single than women, but they also need relationships more than we do.
