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This year we are focusing on the astrological forces that may or may not be ruling your love life.

Is your romantic destiny written in the stars?

Growing up, I was the definition of a late bloomer.

I didnt have my first kiss until the night before I left for college.

Meanwhile, my entire friend group had graduated high school with boyfriends.

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be in love.

This wasnt just about innocent crushes, though.

I didnt necessarily dream about having awedding, but I spent a lot of time retreating into myself.

It was like a movie that would play in my head every night.

For us, anything less than a transcendent, all-consuming, merging-of-two-souls kind of love simply wont do.

I quickly fell in love with astrology because it affirmed the parts of me that felt unseen.

All I wanted was to be in a relationship, yet love evaded me year after year.

There was the record-label executive I met at a friends Christmas party.

Maybe he would take me to the Grammys?

But he ghosted me after six weeks.

Then came the commercial director, who was only interested in something casual.

I spent weeks crushing on a flirty Russian barista from the coffee shop two blocks from my apartment.

We hung out for two months, but he never liked discussing feelings.

Most of these connections, however, were fleeting.

It didnt matter which signs I dated either.

Even the Cancers and Scorpios, who were supposed to be the perfect matches, didnt stick.

I watched friends effortlessly fall in and out of relationships and start getting married.

With each passing year of my 20s, I feared being single at 30.

It felt shameful and humiliating, a truth I preferred to keep from anyone outside my inner circle.

It was easier that way, and my busy career in fashion also proved to be the perfect cover.

My worst fears came true when I turned 30 and was still single.

Imagine thinking you deserve a man who doesnt like you enough to show up for your birthday.

and my timeline (am I destined to be alone forever?).

It was like my Pisces energy was amplified threefold.

No wonder I was so hopeless yet optimistic about love.

The astrologer also called out my tendency for short-lived flings with foreigners (guilty!).

There wasnt anything wrong with me.

This was all just a part of my lifes path.

I curated a book collection that was fit for any self-help gurus starter pack.

Just after the pandemic, I finally felt ready to dip back into dating.

I met a man while traveling for work and started another long-distance relationship.

After four months, he admitted he couldnt commit to the distance.

But in that relationship, I did something Id never doneI voiced my emotional needsand that felt like progress.

Despite his age, he was notably more mature than many men my age.

I knew he wouldnt likely be a long-term partner, but I couldnt resist.

We could not have been more different.

He was a teacher, living and working in the English countryside.

He was literally rooted: growing vegetables in his backyard and attending organic-farming conferences.

I never stayed in the same place for more than a few months.

We bonded over our love of the outdoors and a devotion to spirituality.

He indulged me in my astrology practice and made me feel desired and adored.

Our time together was always fun and easygoing.

But I also had to reconcile the fantasy of being in a relationship with the reality of it.

Nevertheless, for the first time, I wasnt hypervigilant, constantly searching for signs that he might leave.

Without all that mental noise, I could stay present with my thoughts and needs.

It took more courage than I knew I had to walk away.

Im no longer chasing a fairy-tale romance because I dont need someone to save me from myself.

Those fantasies were an escape, and I no longer need to escape my life.

My birth chart was right: Relationships have always been my greatest teachers.