While society often assumes that finding a romantic partner is the ultimate key to happiness, tracking relationship changes over time reveals a distinctly different reality. A massive longitudinal study proves that individuals actually experience higher emotional well-being when they are single compared to when they are enduring a poor- or moderate-quality relationship. Ultimately, while a high-quality partnership does boost overall happiness, the data confirms that settling for an unfulfilling romance takes a far heavier psychological toll than simply embracing singlehood.