Who's Waiting Ever After? An Exploration of Relationship Desire and Satisfaction Among Long‐Term Singles

Previous research highlights the role of romantic relationship desire in well‐being and relationship formation. Singlehood satisfaction—one's subjective evaluation of being single—is typically lower among those who desire a romantic relationship but remain single. When this desire persists over time, it may evolve into “prolonged desire”, associated with frustration and lower life satisfaction. Yet, little is known about how this dynamic unfolds longitudinally. This study explores whether prolonged relationship desire is associated with changes in singlehood satisfaction over time and whether these vary by sex or cohort. Using random effects regression on nine waves of the German Family Panel, we found that individuals without relationship desire report the highest singlehood satisfaction. Although time and desire were associated with satisfaction, the effect of time became non‐significant when interactions were included. Notably, individuals of the youngest cohort with relationship desire reported the lowest satisfaction, whereas only individuals of the oldest cohort with desire showed improvement over time. Sex showed no significant effects. These findings offer a dynamic perspective on the implications of prolonged desire for singlehood satisfaction and underscore the importance of temporality and sociodemographic context in understanding singlehood experiences.