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How to practise self-love by marrying yourself, and why self-partnering and ‘sologamy’ are on the rise

  • More people, especially women, are marrying themselves – an extension of the self-partnering trend led by celebrities like Emma Watson and Adriana Lima
  • A psychologist says that with more time spent at home alone, many individuals have opted for new methods to appreciate themselves and enhance self-compassion

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Erika Anderson married herself in New York to celebrate her independence and right to be single and happy, an expression of self-love and self-partnering that more people, especially women, are turning to. Photo: YouTube / Erika Anderson

“Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” So sang the late, great Whitney Houston in her 1986 hit, The Greatest Love of All.

In 2022, that mantra captures the mood of the moment. Today, living your best life includes being true to who you are and loving yourself regardless of how that fits in with society’s long-established norms.

For an increasing number of people, primarily women, the ultimate expression of self-love is to marry yourself.

The formal name for self-marriage is “sologamy”. It isn’t legally binding like a conventional marriage, but there are no laws against it anywhere in the world.

A self-wedding kit offered by the US-based company I Married Me. Photo: IMarriedMe.com
A self-wedding kit offered by the US-based company I Married Me. Photo: IMarriedMe.com

Sologamy has reportedly been around since the early 1990s when an American woman, Linda Barker, married herself in front of seven bridesmaids and 75 guests. But to some, the “Godmother” of sologamy is the fictional character, Carrie Bradshaw.

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