Valentine’s Day can feel like salt in a wound when you’re heartbroken. In this piece, I reflect on my first Valentine’s Day after my engagement ended—an unexpectedly bittersweet turning point in my healing journey. If you're having a blue Valentine's, this story is a reminder that you’re not alone.

We talked to a breakup coach about exit plans, dealing with breakups on social media, and whether it’s better to be the dumper or the dumpee.

Breaking up with someone, if you have any semblance of a soul, is not a pleasant experience. How do you do it? Do you really need to meet in a public place and look them in the eye when you break their heart? How honest do you need to be for them to get the idea that you never, ever want to sleep with them again? It's questions like these that making ghosting so tempting. But you don't need to go through this experience alone, you can take your problems to a professional.

If you’re feeling heartbroken this holiday season, I hope hearing about my worst Christmas (and New Year’s) offers you some support, hope, and lightness at a time you're probably not feeling very jolly. You are not alone.