21 Pieces Of Relationship “Advice” You Should Always Ignore

If you are a single girl in your 20s (or single guy, I would imagine), you are constantly receiving advice — both useful and… not — about how to fall in love and live happily ever after. While most people will mean well, it’s important to know which ones to completely forget about. Here are 21 pearls of wisdom to avoid entirely:

1. “You should settle down by [insert age here], it’s all downhill from there.”

2. “You shouldn’t settle down before [insert age here], you have too much else to do with your life.”

3. “Taking someone’s last name is one of the most important parts of getting married, don’t be a stubborn feminist about it.”

4. “If you don’t make finding a relationship your priority, you’re going to end up alone. A job is not going to hold you while you’re falling asleep at night.”

5. “Don’t stop working just because you’ve settled down. Someone can always help with raising children, and you are too smart to be a stay-at-home mom.”

6. “All of your friends are getting married, aren’t you even trying to find someone? You should force yourself to get out there, even if you’re not ready yet, you’re never going to find someone otherwise.”

7. “It’s been [insert relatively small number of months here], it’s time to get over that relationship. Move on.”

8. “Online dating is for people who can’t find real relationships, don’t use it.”

9. “You should lose weight if you’re going to start dating again. It sucks, but you’re just not going to find a quality person unless you look a certain way. Don’t you care what people think?”

10. “You can do better than [insert person you love deeply here].”

11. “They are out of your league.”

12. “Even if you don’t think you want kids now, you are probably going to want them in the future, and you should be open to doing it if that’s what your partner wants. It’s just part of life.”

13. “Financial stability is more important than love, it’s time for you to look for someone serious. You’re not getting any younger.”

14. “You shouldn’t live together before marriage, it will spoil the magic and importance of the relationship.”

15. “You must live together before marriage, because otherwise you won’t really know the person you’re settling down with.”

16. “Why would anyone buy the cow when they can get the milk for free?”

17. “Everyone needs to have at least one one-night stand, otherwise you’re always going to wonder what it would have been like, and you might do it when you are older and married.”

18. “You can’t expect [insert act of basic human decency here] from men. They’re hopeless.”

19. “She has daddy issues, stay away.”

20. “If you’re not married, it means that the relationship isn’t serious. If you really love each other, there is no reason you shouldn’t be married.”

21. “You don’t even really know what you want, anyway.” Thought Catalog Logo Mark

image – auspices

More From Thought Catalog