Breakups are generally unavoidable in life, but that doesn’t mean we’re any good at them. The stressful conversation, the guilt, the division of friendships, navigating all the emotions and aftermath… it’s not a fun time. So this week, we’re taking inspiration from our girl TSwift, the breakup queen herself, and diving deep on how to call things off, in the kindest way possible.

If you’re fresh out of a breakup and are feeling alllll of the feels, this one's for you. Navigating a breakup is never easy, but you’re far from alone. A study last year showed 25% of Canadians between the ages of 18-24 split up during the pandemic, and 5 million Canadians have experienced a recent breakup.

Experts say it can take 6-8 weeks to get over the initial intensity of heartbreak, but with a lack of access during lockdowns to the normal stuff we do to get over our exes, and an ongoing mental health crisis, the “getting over it” part has been hard lately. That leaves us with the inner work we have to do: Finding out who we are again, rewriting our narratives, filling that void, and loving ourselves first.

We called in breakup expert Lindsey Ellison to help us fall in love with our life again and manifest the dream partner that we deserve. Because when you can feel happy on your own, you're raising the bar for the next partner you bring into your life.

One of the many things we’re loving about life after lockdown is that LOVE IS BACK, BABY! So many people are jumping back into the dating world, but we’ve also heard from lots of single friends that they’re feeling a little apprehensive or unsure of how to get back into it all after over a year of isolation. In our recent Instagram polls about dating, 47% of you said you’re a litttttle nervous to get back into dating post-Covid, too, and lots of you have had less than ideal experiences on dating apps.

Navigating love and the dating world in 2021 ain’t easy, so we called in love and relationship coach, Lauren Zoeller, to answer all of your burning Qs, and give us the advice that everyone needs to hear, whether you’re newly single, have been on the market for a while, or are in an open relationship.