Jacelyn Tay, Ya Hui and other celebs’ empowering quotes on being single

In November 2018, former local actress Jacelyn Tay broke the news about her divorce from her husband of eight years. In a heartfelt 2019 Instagram post, Jacelyn, who founded wellness Body Inc and is now a health coach wrote, “Don't crave for love, don't find a lover. Be love, be the lover. You decide who you wanna love. You have the rights not to give love to somebody too. Choose wisely! And don't try to love out of obligation, because that is no longer love.”

“My non-showbiz friends have tried to matchmake me. But you know, I don’t feel like going (to those matchmaking sessions). So I didn’t (in the end). They would keep asking me to come out (to meet guys), but I’m busy with work. Where got so much time? I mean, let nature take its course. I think being single is also quite good. A lot of my friends who are attached have relationship problems. And after they get married, they quarrel over money and kids. So I think I’m fortunate,” the “A Quest to Heal” star told 8 Days in a 2017 interview.

“Never settle. You need to find someone you are absolutely in love with. Pay no mind to the naysayers. Don’t ever let them talk you into getting married for the sake of getting married,” said the 40-year-old Mandopop diva in a video interview with Chinese media company Le Yu in 2019. Jolin was previously in a high-profile 6 year-long relationship with model Vivan Dawson that came to an end in 2016.

45-year-old “Story of Yanxi Palace” star Charmaine Sheh doesn’t regret having missed the opportunity to get married when she was younger. “If I didn’t get married then, it means that he was not suitable for me,” the former TVB actress revealed in a 2020 Chinese television show “Shining Talks”.

"I feel like no boys dare to pursue me after my breakup. But it's okay. I don't think girls should be so anxious in finding their significant other. You have to make yourself stronger and be the perfect version of yourself. Your significant other will appear one day," the mainland social media influencer — who famously dated and dumped Taiwanese pop star Show Lo due to the latter’s womanising tendencies — told Chinese newspaper Ming Pao.

"I think I've passed the phase of getting married and having babies. I used to think that I want to get married...For that, I planned before, like probably in my late twenties or early thirties. Yeah, but it didn't happen that way for me”, the local actress recalled to RazorTV in 2013. (Ann turned 50 in Jan 2023). "I have a very strong thing for my family. So, having a family is kind of like my dream. But it didn't happen. So from there, I try to get my attention away from that. Because it's not easy to just keep thinking that oh... I want to have a relationship, I want to get married... you know all this and that. Even though my friends, it's funny that they say 'oh I just want to get married' and then after that they get married so easily. Then how come that doesn't happen to me? So, I just take it as probably well, that's my life. If I have it, that's a bonus. If I don't have it, then it's okay. To me, it doesn't bother me anymore."

“When I was in my twenties, I didn’t understand when my unnies [older female friends or sisters] would tell me, ‘Instead of getting caught up in love and giving it everything, just work hard on your career.’ There was a time when I thought, ‘Love is everything”...Looking back now, they were right. I have to first do my work well in order to receive lots of love. My own self has to be full,” the actress who famously dated actor Ryu Seung Bum said on the television programme “House on Wheels” in July 2020.

Belinda Lee might be happily married right now, but at one point, things weren't going so smoothly for her in the romantic department. In an interview she did with Jade Seah on her YouTube channel, the actress shared that "After a particularly public and painful breakup, I told myself that I would never want to marry or date again. I thought I was going to remain single for the rest of my life. So for eight years, I was very much on my own."

While the actress received tons of pressure and disparaging comments from friends and well-meaning family members, she was not keen on settling on someone just because she wanted to avoid being alone. "Don't settle for someone just because you need to give in to the pressure of society or conform to what a 40-year-old woman should do. I was told that it was "my fault" for remaining single because I was too fussy. Even people I had previously dated were telling me that my expectations were too high and that I should just go and marry a pastor. But all I wanted was to meet a guy who would accept me and love me for who I am."

“People always ask me, “Oh, why are you not married?” But I chose not to get married, ’cos if I were to (get hitched), I would likely be divorced by now (laughs). In the past, I was a very demanding person. So if I marry for the wrong reasons, it wouldn’t last,” the “My Star Bride” star revealed in an interview with 8 Days.