‘Celebrating Galentine’s Day was a revelation after my break-up – my friends have set a precedent for future boyfriends’

A woman who started celebrating Galentine’s Day with her friends after a “big break-up” has said that prioritising her friendships has “set a precedent, for me, in terms of relationships going forward”.

Amy Gallimore, 31, began marking Galentine’s Day – a celebration of female friendship observed on February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day – in the aftermath of a break-up in 2022.

Every year since then, her group of friends – many of whom are in romantic relationships, too – have gathered with gifts and wine for a low-key dinner party to celebrate their friendships and their love for one another.

For Amy, who lives in Stockport, Greater Manchester, “continuing to nurture those platonic relationships is so important”.

After Amy went through a “big break-up” in 2022, she loved how her friends “made a real conscious effort to involve me and made me feel loved and all that kind of stuff”, even though they were all in their own romantic relationships.

That year, one of her friends decided to throw a Galentine’s dinner, decorating her house and cooking for Amy, and they had some wine and a good chat, which she said “was really nice, just to have the girls there for me at that particular time”.

Galentine’s Day, therefore, “initially started as a bit of a supportive thing” for Amy and her friends – “and then it just kind of carried on from there, really”.

From then on, every year Amy and her group of friends have marked Galentine’s Day, sharing the love for one another during the mid-February period that places an over-emphasis on romantic love.

For Amy and her friends, their annual Galentine’s celebrations usually involve someone hosting a love-themed dinner party, designing the food and decorations with love hearts and other Valentine’s motifs. They’ll decorate the table with flowers and love heart decorations, and hang little paper love hearts around the room. Some of them might go all out, wearing romantic pink dresses for their girly get-together.

They’ll get Valentine’s cards for each other, and small gifts such as flowers or wine – “nothing extravagant… just to show appreciation”, Amy said, adding that she will spend around £25 on her friends for Galentine’s.

Amy is still single at the moment, but celebrating her friendships has helped her focus on herself and shut out the outside noise and pressure to be in a relationship. While she lives in Stockport, most of her close friends live in Leeds, and she feels it’s important to “make that bit of extra time and extra effort to see each other and appreciate each other”, “not just Galentine’s, but throughout the year”.

Amy isn’t alone in finding her friendships got stronger and more meaningful when she became single. A recent survey by the greetings card marketplace thortful revealed that almost a third (28%) of people say their friendships improve when single.

“We definitely don’t see each other as often these past couple of years,” Amy said, adding that when she moved from Leeds to Stockport she had to make a more conscious effort to maintain her friendships.

“Everyone started to get married, they’ve got their own homes with their partners. I’ve got that group of friends that are over in Leeds, they all have partners now, but the fact that we do make time to have those evenings together – not just Galentine’s, but throughout the year – I don’t ever feel left out, even when the partners are there.

“It does shut out that noise (of relationship pressure), definitely. It just kind of shows you’re appreciated and you get that love from your friends.

“I’m so busy in day-to-day life, I’m not really looking for relationships as it stands, so having those little dinners to look forward to and catching up with the people that I really care about is really, really nice.”

Amy added that making time to truly appreciate and celebrate her friendships has proved to be “kind of a revelation”.

“Those people are the ones that are going to be there, or that have been there throughout your whole life – these are the people you build your foundations with and your life around,” she said.

“With romantic relationships, things can change, but having those solid friendships is just super, super important.”

Ultimately, celebrating Galentine’s with her girl friends each year has taught Amy a lot about the importance of platonic relationships, and says her strong friendships have set a precedent for any romantic relationships she might enter into in the future.

“I think a lot of people can make the mistake, when you get into a relationship, that that is kind of where your focus is, but continuing to nurture those outside platonic relationships is so important throughout your life,” she said.

“You have so much in common with the women around you, and (it’s important to have) those spaces to talk about stuff, whether it’s career-wise or personal, or to vent about relationships as well.

“I think not having those and kind of putting all your stuff into a romantic relationship… What happens when it all falls apart?

“I’ve just gotten so much out of those platonic relationships… It kind of sets a precedent, for me, in terms of relationships going forward. Having a romantic relationship, obviously, would be lovely, but it’s not something that I feel I need, because I’ve got that support there.

“I think everyone should have that.”