The Most Empowering Quotes That Celebrate Being Single

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For many, marriage might be the answer. But for others, being single is the best choice. No matter if you’re newly single or have been single for a while, being unattached can be a liberating experience.

While romantic love is ubiquitously celebrated in society, from movies to music and every medium in between — the joys and benefits of being single don’t get as much, well, love. To empower those who aren’t in a relationship, we’ve rounded up some of the best being single quotes that encourage self-love and promote the virtues of singledom.

From Marilyn Monroe to legendary novelist and filmmaker Nora Ephron, this list includes wise words and enlightening perspectives from people who embraced being single at some point in their lives. While some may have gone on to wed or be in serious relationships, their sentiments still ring true.

Whether you’re happily single or adjusting to the lifestyle, let these being single quotes be an inspiration or serve as a reminder to always choose yourself. After all, who will always have your best interest at heart? You, of course.

After you’ve read them, post these quotes and sayings about self-love as Instagram captions on Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day or simply send in a group text to your single best friends.

No matter how or where you share these messages, always remember that the longest and most important relationship you’ll ever be in is the one with yourself.

Emma Watson

"It took me a long time, but I’m very happy [being single]. I call it being self-partnered."

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Mindy Kaling

"I don't need anyone to take care of all my needs and desires. I can take care of them myself now."

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Marilyn Monroe

“It’s better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone — so far.”

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Shirley MacLaine

“I don’t need a man to rectify my existence. The most profound relationship we’ll ever have is the one with ourselves.”

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Selena Gomez

“Being single can pave the way for new opportunities.”

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Mae West

“Marriage is a fine institution, but I’m not ready for an institution.”

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Nora Ephron

"It seemed to me that the desire to get married — which, I regret to say, I believe is basic and primal in women — is followed almost immediately by an equally basic and primal urge, which is to be single again."

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Unknown

"Love yourself first, because that's who you'll spend the rest of your life with."

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Tony Gaskins

"Life is too precious to waste it with the wrong person."

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Eric Dickerson

“I love being single. I can come and go as I please and stay out as late as I want to.”

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Keri Hilson

"I’m not waiting or looking. The right one will find me when it's time. I’m just focused on being the best human I can be."

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Mandy Hale

“Being brave enough to be alone frees you up to invite people into your life because you want them and not because you need them.”

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Hermann Hesse

“As a body, everyone is single, as a soul never.”

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Oscar Wilde

“I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not defined by another person.”

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Tracee Ellis Ross

“One of my favorite parts of being single is how I get to choose who I spend my time with, share my heart with, hang with, giggle with, call, dine across from.”

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Khloe Kardashian

“I think being single is really healthy for people. I think people who go from one relationship to another, I don’t know if they have a healing process or [know] what went wrong or how to better themselves.”

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John Mayer, "The Age of Worry"

“Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it.”

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Katy Perry

“Too many girls rush into relationships because of the fear of being single, then start making compromises, and losing their identity. Don’t do that.”

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Michael Bassey Johnson

“If you truly want to be respected by people you love, you must prove to them that you can survive without them.”

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Teri Hatcher

“I have been single for a very long time, but there is nothing lonely about my life.”

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Eva Longoria

“I’m not alone! I’m with myself, and myself is fabulous.”

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Coco Chanel

"It’s probably not just by chance that I’m alone. It would be very hard for a man to live with me, unless he’s terribly strong. And if he’s stronger than I, I’m the one who can’t live with him."

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Fisher Amelie

"Discover why you’re important, then refuse to settle for anyone who doesn’t completely agree."

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Maureen Dowd

"The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than what you settled for."

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Diane Keaton

“The loves of my life are my children and my mother. I don't feel as if I need a man.”

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Unknown

“You're your best cheerleader.”

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Kristen Bell

“Every woman in her late 20s goes through a period where she just doesn’t believe love is out there anymore, but it is. And I think the minute you stop looking for it is when it comes for you.”

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Mollie King

"Being single has definitely given me a new lease on life."

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Carrie Bradshaw, "Sex and the City"

“Being single used to mean that nobody wanted you. Now, it means you’re pretty hot, and you’re taking your time deciding how you want your life to be and who you want to spend it with.”

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Kristin Davis

“It’s nice to be with someone, but I don’t think you need to be in a relationship to feel complete. That would be really sad.”

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Jennifer Lawrence

“I’m not a lonely person. I never feel lonely … It’s not a sad thing to be alone. I think what I was trying to get across was that I don’t feel a lack of something, not being in a relationship. I don’t feel like there is an emotional void to be filled.”

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Amy Schumer

“You don’t need to wrangle some warm body to sit next to just so you aren’t alone on holidays.”

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Lizzo, "Soulmate"

“‘Cause I’m my own soulmate. I know how to love me. I know that I’m always gonna hold me down.”

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Carl Henegan

"As a self-described [idealist], I never consider myself as single. I like to say that I’m in between romances at the moment."

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Nina Dobrev

“People aren’t defined by their relationships.”

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Jennifer Aniston

“As I get older, I realize what qualities are important in love and what suits me. And what I won’t settle for.”

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Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

"You don't have to be part of a couple to be happy, you know."

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Lao Tzu

"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened."

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Eda LeShan

"When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death: ourselves."

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Rebecca Traister

“I wound up happily married because I lived in an era in which I could be happily single.”

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Steve Jobs

“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

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Henry David Thoreau

“I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

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Monica Bellucci

“The single woman is a free woman, and being single does not mean being alone — it means being free to have a relationship or not. This can be scary, but it's also very interesting.”

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Munia Khan

“I never feel alone realizing the fact that my life is my only life partner.”

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Unknown

“I like being single — I’m always there when I need me.”

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Delta Burke

“I don’t like to be labeled as lonely just because I am alone.”

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Maya Angelou

“If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”

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Sophia Bush

“I don't think you can really, truly be the partner you want to be until you know on an absolute level that you are a complete person on your own. I think that's something all women deserve to know.”

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Gloria Steinem

“We are becoming the men we wanted to marry.”

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Tiffany Haddish

“I have been in lots of relationships. Right now, I am focused on the one that really counts — the one with me. I am doing really good in this one. I give me whatever I want, and I know how to make me happy. Maybe in a few years, we might let someone else in.”

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Robin Williams

“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.”

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Olga Kurylenko

“Being single is only sad if you have a problem with your own company. I’m content with mine.”

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