Ah… breakups. I don’t think any of us will avoid going through at least one tough, messy break up in our lives. And, since most of us 20-somethings will experience our fair share of messy breakups as we date, we thought we would curate a good binge-worthy list of movies that can help us recover and feel like ourselves again or at least temporarily distract ourselves. These movies might be super-cliche, but when you’re feeling isolated and like the weight of a messy break up rests solely on your shoulders, these movies will help remind you that you’re not alone. Of course, no one knows the relationship you are grieving like you do but having entertainment that depicts some of those emotions you may be feeling right now can be helpful in those hard days and moments that follow post breakup! We know first hand from experience, having turned to some of these movies in the days following a major heartbreak (cue Eat Pray Love!!), how helpful it is to feel seen and heard even if it is through a movie. Hopefully these provide you with the support that they did for us in those hard times.
Five Movies To Watch After A Breakup:
- Eat Pray Love – This one had to be listed because this is the very first movie I watched after a horrendous breakup (I know, I know all breakups are horrendous right? This one just felt especially bad and extra lonely). For those of you who have just gone through one of those unexpected, heart-wrenching bad breakups, I highly recommend you consider putting this movie on. This film is based off of the memoir of a very talented writer, Elizabeth Gilbert, and her journey as a newly single women traveling the world after a divorce where she does a lot of self-discovery and finds more self-love (and love too). Getting a chance to sit down with a broken heart and empathize with a main character who, too, is dealing with the fallout and all the change that comes after a relationship ends- was the helpful distraction and self-care that I was in desperate need of during one of those very lonely post-breakup days. There are some amazing quotes that come out of this journey of self-discovery that I found helpful to restructure some of those negative thinking patterns that I had conjured up after being what I felt was rejected by my ex. This women’s journey to more self-love and discovery will help you regain a sense of confidence that may be lacking in the initial aftermath of a breakup to help you see that you will grow from the experience and that you will find your way back to the confident happy self you know that you and deserve to be 🙂 Where To Watch: Hulu
- First Wives Club – This is an older movie that some of us twenty somethings may not have never seen or heard about but after having discovered it just this past year- I could not recommend it more for my newly single young adults! Why? Well in this film, we watch three women in their middle ages (a time that a lot of us young adults presume we will and should have our lives figured out) newly separated and totally thrown for a loop after their husbands leave them for younger women. Totally distraught and in pain, these three former college besties find themselves trying to seek revenge on their exes. While the pain of betrayal is what initially brings these women to bond over- it ultimately is their love and support for one another that bring these women together and allows them to find more growth, confidence and happiness than they had before. I appreciate the strong theme of female friendships and how friendships impact us and provide us with strength and encouragement thru the high and lows. While I could go into more detail on what these women end up doing – I will encourage you to watch it to see how empowering friendships are and how we must foster them regardless of our age and status. Where To Watch: Hulu
- How To Be Single – I will preface this summary with a little backstory as to why (aside from the obvious) this is a go to movie of mine: I saw this movie on Valentines day while in a relationship while the rest of the theatre was filled with singles to which I left the movie feeling lucky to be leaving with someone (talk about co dependency issues) …well fast forward a half a year later after the films debut and I found myself in a horrible breakup and single and what did I turn on soon after?! You guessed it it was this film that I found myself watching a handful of times! This film starts off with the main character, Alice, graduating from college and about to move to the big apple to start her post grad life. Having been in a long term relationships for most of college, the Alice feels the need to enter this new stage of her life single, so she proposes the idea of a break to her boyfriend. Alice quickly finds herself fascinated by the fun and thrilling adventures that await for her but soon after the glamour of the single party life wears off, Alice finds herself craving what she knows, being in a relationship. When Alice finds out that her ex has moved on, she then starts to find herself dealing with the heartbreak and learning how to truly be single (as the title would suggest) coping with the ups and downs of it all. This film is great because it does depict both the good and the challenges that come with being single and being in a relationships which I think a lot of us young twenty something year olds learn and what can be helpful after a breakup to see that while we may be losing someone we will have more to look forward to and new experiences that we wouldn’t have had if we stayed in said relationship. Where To Watch: Hulu
- The Holiday – You may have just recently watch this because it is one of the best holiday movies to watch in our opinions. This film starts out with two recently heartbroken women who decide last minute to exchange homes with each other for the holidays. The women do so in hopes to escape reality and more importantly, their romantic lives, during the holidays. But as the old adage goes, when these women are least expecting it they find love. There is ample enough amount of lighthearted moments and laughs to provide you with the bingeable post breakup movie sesh. While this is one of those stories that focuses on the new love that these women find after going through terrible breakups it is reassuring as a newly single individual to see women move on and find far greater love to give y’all that reminder that there will be more relationships and more fulfilling love that you will go onto find. Where To Watch: Netflix and Hulu
- Someone Great – After a horrible breakup and right before she moves to a brand new city, the main character gets together with her two besties for a fun crazy night before her big move. This is a great one for those who not only are dealing with heart break but also dealing with other big life changes (aka a big move) as lots of change can be scary at first but with your best friends you can find the support you need. Where To Watch: Netflix
We hope that these movies bring you that helpful distraction after a breakup like they did for us. We wish you lots of healing energy and support 🙂 We would love to hear what some of the helpful movies you have turned to after a breakup?
