Modern Love: The 52 Best Breakup Lines (Said in Real Life)

Modern Love: The 52 Best Breakup Lines (Said in Real Life)

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The New York Times

Modern Love

December 19, 2025, 1:01 p.m. Eastern time

Every week, we’ll send you stories about relationships, feelings, betrayals and revelations. If you would like to share your own love story, consider submitting a Modern Love essay or a Tiny Love Story.

Brian Rea

The 52 Best Breakup Lines (Said in Real Life)

To mark the winter holidays — an especially popular time to break up — we asked people around the world for their most striking parting words to each other.

The Revenge of the People Pleaser

After being assaulted, I worked for years to make myself invisible. Ryan saw me anyway.

Modern Love

I Cashed Out My 401(k) to Build a Women-Only Retirement Community

The Bird’s Nest is experimenting with a different way to age.

27 MIN LISTEN

Tiny Love Stories: ‘Good Riddance, Christmas’

Modern Love in miniature, featuring reader-submitted stories of no more than 100 words.

See more stories

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