Carly Galluzzo, a law student from Long Island, New York, has cut out relationships from her life after 16 years of disastrous dating that left her mental health and self-worth affected.
“I think I was dating because all of my friends have been pairing up for so long, and that was driving me to find a partner. But I don’t think that was a good motivation,” she told SWNS. “I felt that I had to keep dating.”
“It didn’t matter whether the men were good or not. At the end of the day, my outlook on it was also not good,” continued Galluzzo, 28. “It was just something that I feared that if I didn’t pursue something straight away, I’d miss out on something.”
According to Galluzzo, she began to realize that everything in her life revolved around her quest to find a relationship.
“The only conversations I’d have with college girlfriends were about boyfriends and finding a partner,” she told SWNS.
The student also told the outlet that she discovered her “journey with materialism” went hand in hand with her dating life, explaining, “The quickest way to money is dating a wealthy guy, which, of course, can be amazing, but I know what’s important now — real happiness and not just these monetary things.”
“My ex-boyfriend was very wealthy and took me to a lot of great places and that validation from my peers felt good. But I can say now I’ve lived that life crying my eyes out on a yacht in the South of France,” she continued. “I was so miserable and I was willing to give up my happiness for that.”
Back in January, Galluzzo said everything “finally clicked” and she realized, “I haven’t really been single and happy — ever. I’ve been dating my whole life and seriously dating since I was 16.”
Detailing that she would “either become anxiously attached or avoidantly attached,” Galluzzo noted, “I found myself planning weddings after knowing someone for a week. I was attaching these feelings and personalities, but it wasn’t fair on either one of us.”
Now, since changing her approach, Galluzzo told SWNS, “I genuinely think I look at life differently,” adding, “I’ve never been happier than now. The weight that has been lifted feels like it was 1,000 lbs. I feel content and I feel like I’ve never been younger.”
“I don’t care what I look like if I see some eligible man in the grocery store. I’m not dating now. I’m not going out and expecting to be approached by a guy,” she continued. “I’ve broken up with ‘situationships’ and people that ask me out, now I say ‘No.’ I feel like I have a lot of power in that.”
“I’m not putting [a relationship] out for the future, but for today, I don’t want a partner and I don’t want to think about it,” she explained.
“My dream man, if he comes up to me right now, I truly think I’d have to think about it, and it’s just crazy to think like that,” Carly Galluzzo continued. “What I’m feeling right now, I could do this forever and be happy.”
She added: “I know I can take care of myself financially, [and] I can see myself in 10 years from now still being this happy, but I can also see myself in a regular relationship.”
