11 Little Things Even Happily Married Women Miss About Being Single
Dreaming of your single years doesn't make a woman a bad wife.
Mix and Match Studio | Shutterstock There's nothing better than having a romantic partner, right? Well, maybe! Having someone to cuddle with whenever you want may sound like hitting the jackpot — and it is! But even when you're married to the person you love most, there will be things you miss about being single.
Having a partner is like choosing to happily see the glass half-full. It doesn't make you whole, but it makes you better. The happily married and committed women we talked to for this article agree, but they also want the world to know that it's OK to miss being single, even with an awesome partner!
11 things even the most happily married women miss about being single
1. The freedom to just get up and go
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"I miss, more than anything, having the freedom to do whatever I want when I want to. I miss being able to just hang around with my girlfriends and guy friends during the day and just do nothing with them — and not have to worry about checking in. I miss not having to pay attention to my phone and I miss spur of the moment adventures; now, I run everything past my boyfriend to make sure our plans don't conflict." — Carey, 26
2. The curiosity to explore
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"I wish I would have been more promiscuous. I think when I was single I wanted to be intimate with a "boyfriend", whereas now I just wish I would have slept around a little bit." — Melissa, 28
"When I was single, I was like 'Oh, no, I don't want to get my number up.' Now though, I wish I slept with more people." — Ana, 24
3. Having a good cry
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"I put on Dirty Dancing the other night after my boyfriend fell asleep and I cried and cried and cried. It felt so good to cry for no reason." — Lou, 25
"Oh,I miss not being laughed at when I cry in movies or whenever anyone has a wedding on TV." — Meagan, 26
4. Not sharing a bed
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"It's so, so cliché, but I don't even care. I miss having room to sprawl out in my bed and not have to deal with someone else hogging the pillows and the comforter. Snuggling is always a huge plus, on those few nights that I get to myself, I'm reminded how much I love sleeping alone." — Kali, 24
5. Time all alone
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"Whether it was time to myself or time to hang out with my girlfriends, I miss being able to spend my time how I wanted to, without feeling guilty for it — or worrying that I wasn’t spending enough time with my boyfriend." — Jenny, 26
"I started seeing my boyfriend when all of my best friends were all single. I was jealous of how much time they got to spend together doing whatever they wanted. I always felt like I was doing something wrong when I ditched him to hang out with them." — Allie, 26
6. Pursuing career goals
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"My husband resents the time I spend growing my career, even though he did the same thing before we met. I wish I could go back and slow down our relationship so I could spend more time on my career." — Nyla, 29
7. Holidays with whoever
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"I love my in-laws but I love Christmas and New Year's with my family. My siblings and I are super tight and it's depressing to miss out on time with them. I know it's not fair to ignore his family every year, but I miss that aspect of single life." — Marisol, 40
8. The feeling of falling in love
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I know this seems obvious, but I loved falling in love. I'd love to fall in love like five or six more times in my life. Yeah, that's selfish. I get it. And I choose my wife every day. But, man, I miss that feeling of falling in love." — Ann, 33
9. Choosing what to watch
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"I love reality TV and comedy and my husband likes violent shows like Game of Thrones. We do find some compromises, but it's hard for me to stomach the violence, and honestly, he feels the same about reality shows like Housewives. That means we spend a few hours every weekend and at least a little while most weeknights with one of us on the couch and the other in bed, watching our stuff. It feels lonely but I also need my trash TV!" — Griselda, 50
10. Flirting with whoever
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"Listen, I love to flirt. In line at the coffee shop, with people at parties, at conferences. I'm a flirt — men and women! This makes my partner feel incredibly sad, but it's not about them at all. I reign it in so I don't hurt their feelings, but I do miss getting my flirt on!" — Sondra, 29
11. Keeping a messy house
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"I'm an ADHD Queen and that means I'm a little messy. When it starts to bother me, I take a full weekend to make everything look tight again, and that system works for me. As soon as Clay and I started living together, I knew I had to be less of a tornado, but sometimes it feels like a burden. I do it, but I miss just being able to stack mail in the corner for two weeks and not worrying about it." — Milena, 24
Kylie McConville is a freelance writer, editor-in-chief at Apartment Therapy, and founding editor of Romper. Her bylines have appeared in BDG, Yahoo, Bustle, Elite Daily, Romper, The Bump, and others.