There's no two ways about it, ending a relationship sucks. Regardless of who breaks up with whom or how it went down, both people are still going to feel it (unless you were dating an absolute monster).
Even the cleanest breakup isn't great, but it doesn't have to be all bad.
Since breaking up is a basic fact of life, we're here to tell you 10 reasons it's not so bad. After all, you get to focus on yourself more now, right?
See also: 7 Things No Guy Wants to Hear
10. You lose weight.
When you first break up with someone, you might put on some weight from a little bit of comfort eating. After that, your diet almost assuredly gets cleaner. Sure, you might spend more nights out drinking empty calories in your pursuit of romance, but you're likely going out to eat less and cooking for yourself more. Add in all of the extra time you have to hit the gym (and your increased desire to look better for potential dates), and you'll surely find yourself in better physical shape out of a relationship than you ever were while in one.
9. You don't have to deal with in-laws.
What's worse than having to spend time with your own family? Having to spend time with your significant other's family. Sure, once in a while you might get lucky and have some super cool in-laws, but the majority of the time, that's not the case. It's cool, you only had to pretend to like them, and now you never have to see them again. You started dating your ex because of who he/she was, not because of his/her family. Now you're not obligated to force conversations with anyone's awkward siblings or pretend to like your partner's mom's cooking.
8. You can dress any way you want.
By no means are we saying that your ex dressed you, but you know they had some influence on what you wore. Admit it, there was at least one time when you specifically chose to wear something because you knew your partner liked it (or didn't wear something because he or she didn't like it). Guess what? Now you're free of all of that. You can wear a T-shirt and jeans to go out on a Saturday night or throw on your steampunk outfit on a Tuesday, and no one (whose opinion you may care about) will tell you that you should've worn something else.
7. You get to take their music off your iPod/phone.
We don't blame you for being too cheap to buy anything bigger than the 16GB iPhone, particularly since it's going to be obsolete in two years anyway. So isn't it nice when you can finally open up a that precious last little bit of memory by clearing out all of that Rihanna you put on to make your ex-girlfriend happy for your road trip to her parents' house? Or wipe off the Wu-Tang-laden workout playlist your ex-boyfriend synced that one time he needed it before his Crossfit class? There's something oddly freeing about deleting your ex's favorite song from your iPod.
6. You don't have to share a bed or a bathroom anymore.
Whether you're living together or not, if you're in a serious relationship, you're probably going to be spending a lot of time splitting a bed and/or bathroom. Sure, sometimes it's nice to fall asleep with your loved one right next to you, but other times, you're just trying to sprawl out and not wake up with a face full of someone else's hair. And let's be honest, no matter who you are or how much you care about your partner, it's always nice to have your own bathroom.
5. You only have to plan your schedule around you.
One of the most aggravating parts of a relationship can be having to figure out your daily schedule as it pertains to someone else's. Ever try dating a nurse or a fireman? Good luck matching those schedules. Even if both of you work normal hours, you'll still run into plenty of times when she has a work thing or it's his friend's birthday. Since becoming single, you'll find that you have time to do things you never thought possible, like work out regularly and binge-watch The Wire in the same week.
4. You get full control of the television.
Guys, do you realize this means no more HGTV marathons? Ladies, how about never watching another UFC fight again? Let's face it, no one's taste in television is as good as yours, and now you can finally stop pretending to watch the crappy shows your ex watches. Never again will you have to guess which pretty little liar did it. Gone are the days of being lost by football references and penis jokes on the League. With the power of the Internet, you can now watch Silicon Valley whenever you feel like it. That, friends, is called freedom.
3. You can see whomever you want, whenever you want.
You know that friend who your ex always hated, so you'd just have to text them all the time and never actually hang out? Yeah, now you can see him/her every weekend if you want. All those cute guys/gals that you turned down "getting to know better" because you had a significant other are suddenly free to get dinner on Friday night and/or brunch on Sunday. You won't have to worry about your significant other getting pissed off when your friend wants to sleep on the couch, or when you go out with your coworkers and don't get back until the wee hours of the morning.
2. You have more disposable income.
All right, so this one is probably only going to be true for one of the two people in the relationship. But if you're the one that foots the bills in the relationship, you'll be blown away by how much money you save when you aren't feeding and entertaining (and maybe even housing) a second person. Even if they're paying rent and splitting things 50-50, all those times you'd cover the other person add up. You no longer have to drop extra cash every time you go to the grocery store to get your significant other's favorite wine or beer, and don't even get us started on how much you'll save on Christmas/Valentine's/anniversary gifts.
1. You don't have to be with your ex anymore.
This is the real benefit of breaking up. Everything else is nice, but let's face it, there's a reason you're not with the person who you were with before. Sure, you guys had some great times together, but overall, you're better off without them. All of those little things that bugged the crap out of you the whole time you were dating, but you learned to deal with them? Now you never have to see them again. Maybe it's about time you send a thank you card to your ex for teaching you a whole host of new things you didn't know you wanted to avoid in a partner.
