Article image

Quotes To Help You Mourn and Move Forward From a Relationship

The seismic shift caused by a separation or divorce can be incredibly challenging, both in our day-to-day lives and for our big-picture plans and goals. For some people, the end of a long-term commitment can be as traumatic as a death, so it’s important to allow ourselves the time and grace we need to grieve the loss of the future we’d planned, to understand and process our emotions, and to reframe our lives moving forward.

It can be especially tricky to make the leap from being part of a couple to being single when it feels as though everyone around us is paired off and thriving. It’s important to remind ourselves that, no matter how hard it might be in the moment, the end of a romantic relationship can mark the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in our lives.

Still, pivoting to an unfamiliar and unexpected stage can bring on a roller coaster of emotions. We may experience intense shock and grief over our loss, or anger and fear at having to start over and face the unknown — all alongside feelings of hope and even joy at the possibilities that have opened up for us.

If you’re ready to move forward after a separation or divorce, these 17 insightful quotes can help you gain some refreshing perspective on your tangled feelings and your new life.

When one of you wanted one life, and the other wanted something completely different, there was a technical term for that: irreconcilable.
Anna Quindlen

Share Quote

Laying blame is so easy. I don’t have time for hate or negativity in my life. There’s no room for it.
Reese Witherspoon

Share Quote

It’s hard to admit that a marriage might be over when the love is still there. People are led to believe that a marriage ends only when the love has been lost. When anger replaces happiness. When contempt replaces bliss. But … we’re just not the same people we used to be.
Colleen Hoover

Share Quote

No matter how painful, divorce, like all endings, opens the door to new beginnings.
Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Share Quote

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Maya Angelou

Share Quote

All divorce does is divert you, taking you away from everything you thought you knew and everything you thought you wanted and steering you into all kinds of other stuff.
Mitch Albom

Share Quote

There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.
Kate DiCamillo

Share Quote

I do not believe that there were more happy marriages before divorce became socially acceptable, that people tried harder, got through their rough times, and were better off. I believe that more people suffered.
Ann Patchett

Share Quote

Moving on isn’t always about speeding enthusiastically forward so much as it’s about having one foot on the gas and the other on the brakes — releasing and accelerating in turn.
Heidi Priebe

Share Quote

Heartbreak is loss. Divorce is a piece of paper.
Taylor Jenkins Reid

Share Quote

Taking a thing apart is always faster than putting something together. This is true of everything except marriage.
Joe Hill

Share Quote

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
Toni Morrison

Share Quote

I’m movin’ on / At last I can see / Life has been patiently waiting for me / And I know / There’s no guarantees, but I’m not alone.
Rascal Flatts

Share Quote

Divorce isn’t such a tragedy. A tragedy’s staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of divorce.
Jennifer Weiner

Share Quote

All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.
Mae West

Share Quote

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.
Ann Landers

Share Quote

There are some trajectories you cannot change, no matter what you do.
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Share Quote

Featured image credit: simplehappyart/ iStock

Author image
About the Author
Kristina Wright
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "Man is indestructible because of his simple will to ___." - William Faulkner

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.

separator icon
William Arthur Ward
motivation theme icon

The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.

separator icon
Mitch Albom
hope theme icon

It isn't a sadness, but a joy, that we don't do the same things for the length of our lives.

separator icon
Gabrielle Zevin
love theme icon

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.

separator icon
David Foster Wallace
wisdom theme icon

I'm doing many different things to prepare for the inevitable failure of one of them.

separator icon
Jesse Eisenberg
happiness theme icon

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, but it empties it of its strength.

separator icon
George Seaton Bowes
motivation theme icon

My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.

separator icon
Judy Blume
hope theme icon

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

separator icon
Albert Camus
love theme icon

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

separator icon
Alan Watts
wisdom theme icon

Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

separator icon
Henry David Thoreau
happiness theme icon

What you think about day and night forms your character and personality.

separator icon
Masami Saionji