What the researchers found is that spending time without a partner left women, in particular, better prepared to deal with the ups and downs of life, whether they were initially single (lived on their own after leaving home) or immediately coupled (entered a relationship after leaving home).

Not only were they found to be more economically independent, but separating from their first partner didn’t make a significant difference to how their life satisfaction changed over time. Those studied experienced a drop in life satisfaction in the year of separation, but there wasn’t a substantial difference.

The earnings of women who had been single before were already higher before separation while the earnings of women who were immediately coupled after leaving home went up.

Being single in your 20s could benefit your psychological wellbeing, according to new research