A million dollar question that singles around the world might have probably found the answer to was how one stays single. But if you happen to have mastered singlehood way too long and are almost running out of ideas doing it, learn how to get better by taking cues from these six female protagonists below.
All of these ladies carry a different back story/ reason for why they’re single, while we try to have something for everyone, I hope your story doesn’t get as complicated as theirs. Nevertheless, be it intended/ unintended, what’s important is to stay fabulous while staying single. Read on and may you be enlightened.
Kerou Meng from Blue Gate Crossing (2002)
Who is she?
A teenage girl who studies at National Taiwan Normal University Affiliated Senior High School. She slowly developed a single-sided crush on her best friend at the time, Yuezhen Lin, and was eventually forced to help deliver a love letter to her classmate. In turn, this started a series of misunderstandings that spiraled down to an ill-fated love triangle.
How is she single?
Just casually being a homosexual in her coming-of-age years in Taiwan in the not-so-openminded 2000s. All the while, her crush, who also happens to be her best friend, asked her to help express her feelings for Zhang Shihao, the swimming team's ace at the time.
What to wear if you’re just like her?
Even if you’re stuck in a situation of unrequited love, you can still wear your heart on your sleeve with this bracelet that features a Coração - meaning "heart" in Portuguese.
Jane Austen from Becoming Jane (2007)
Who is she?
You have most certainly heard of Jane Austen, simply one of the greatest, if not the greatest, English novelists of her time. Not only is she famous for her six novels - four of which became the inspiration behind some high-quality blockbusters of our time, including 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility, 2020’s Emma, and 2016's Love & Friendship - but also her path of spinsterhood in a time when marriage was an essential rite for a woman's salvation.
How is she single?
Refused to conform to the norms formed by a patriarchal society at the time, Jane has been rather busy turning down the affections of other men, including Mr. Wisley, the nephew and heir of the wealthy Lady Gresham.
What to wear if you’re just like her?
Spinsterhood is most definitely not (as) frowned upon in modern days. But if you also happen to have “taken a vow” of singlehood as Austen did, take the Orbit blue necklace as a reminder of self-reflection, novelty, and a grounding in your intuition and beliefs.
Imperator Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Who is she?
In a post-apocalyptic dystopian world, Furiosa is one of the lieutenants working for warlord Immortan Joe. Potentially staying single by choice, I mean, who has time for romantic affairs when you’re at war?
How is she single?
Working for probably one of the most indecent-looking warlords in history while having a bunch of zombie-looking colleagues, it would be an understatement to say Furiosa has the worst luck with men. But as a strong, independent woman who provides for herself, who needs good luck with men when you could get the cleanest drinking water at a time when famine is the new norm?
What to wear if you’re just like her?
If you also have the worst luck with men like Furiosa, chin up! We’re all living in the 21st century, and fortunately, not all of us have to worry about unfiltered drinking water. Just embrace the strong, independent woman that you truly are and wear Rêver’s Pear Eternity Band - let it serve as a reminder that you are loyal to no one else but yourself.
Erin Brockovich from Erin Brockovich (2000)
Who is she?
Just someone who has recently been injured in a traffic accident with a doctor and was close to winning the lawsuit against him but didn’t in the end due to her temperament. She eventually decided to work for the lawyer who represented her in court because he promised it would work out and that she would get the compensation she deserved, but things went south, and she needed a job to feed the kids.
How is she single?
Try being an unemployed single mom to three kids, recently involved in a traffic incident, and lost a lawsuit that’s meant to support your family. I guess it’s safe to assume that having a boyfriend would be the last thing on your to-do list (that is if that even made it to the list).
What to wear if you’re just like her?
Being an unemployed single mom could be tough, but you shouldn’t let it define you, let alone take away your happiness or sense of being. Wear Maren’s Sunbeam Ring and carry your sunshine even when life gets tough.
Fleabag from Fleabag (2016 - 2019)
Who is she?
A dry-witted Londoner known only as Fleabag navigates life and love while dealing with tragedy. Rejecting those who are trying to help her, the audience is slowly introduced to the trauma that made her angry and grief-riddled.
How is she single?
As the saying goes, only by loving yourself can you love others. Fleabag is probably one of the perfect negative examples in modern pop culture. Not only is staying single her own doing, but she eventually falls in love with a priest towards the end of the show. This doomed love affair is just as tragic as it sounds on paper.
What to wear if you’re just like her?
Everyone’s fighting their own battles, what’s important is that you maintain your balance doing it. The Ballerina Earrings by Design Lab weaves the delicate beauty and balance of a swan lake queen. Keep it close and let it be your constant reminder of stability and balance in life.
Marianne from Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Who is she?
An aspiring painter, who later became an art teacher in the late eighteenth century, hides the biggest secret of her identity in the portrait of a lady on fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu). When approached by her student with questions about the painting, her past was then slowly unveiled.
How is she single?
Like Kerou, she also tragically happens to be a homosexual in her coming-of-age years in France in the not-so-openminded eighteenth century. Choosing a slightly unpopular career path (or to have one at all) as opposed to her peers at the time, Marianne was an aspiring painter busy making a mark in the field.
What to wear if you’re just like her?
Having to part with the love of your life could be tough, but you can always keep the precious memories of them with you in the form of Maren’s Memories of the sea pendant necklace.