George Single Again?!

So it's been all over the Web for a week now - George Clooney and Sarah Larson have split after almost a year of dating. I shouldn't have been, but I was kind of surprised.

There's something flawed in me that always believes that with the right partner a man who doesn't commit, will. It's pretty judgemental of me - I tend to think the only way someone can really be happy is to be in a committed relationship and that's just not true.

I try to put myself in George's place (not easy for a writer/mom from Cape Cod) and imagine that his life is pretty darn perfect. Why should he "settle down" with one person, he's freaking George Clooney! He has his posse of guy friends, a family he seems to be close to, millions of dollars, homes around the globe, an Oscar and he's incredibly handsome.

I was reading a piece on Jezebel yesterday about being single, namely about a new book, "So Why Have You Never Been Married?" by Carl Weisman, and what he discovered is that these life-long bachelors are more afraid of being stuck in a bad marriage than being alone. Interesting. When I read that I kind of got it. Especially for a man in Clooney's position, there's no such thing as an iron-clad pre-nup, so not only are you risking your heart and happiness, and you're also risking a fortune you've spent your entire career amassing.

After having been single for over 10 years myself, I kind of understand the Clooney state of mind. In many ways it's kind of nice to not have to factor in someone else in your decisions (though I have three kids, a mother and brother who I certainly factor in). Not everyone wants to be married and have kids. And that's okay!

Rumors have swirled that part of the reason for the breakup was that over time Clooney felt they had little in common. This took a year to figure out? There's a reason I wouldn't want to date someone twenty years younger than myself - I want similar life experiences and a sharing of cultural references.

Who knows, maybe if George actually dated a grown woman he'd have better luck, but if the hypothesis of Weisman's book is correct - that men don't want to commit for fear it won't be perfect, then it doesn't matter how old someone is.

So as I drive around and around this cul de sac two opposing thoughts come to me - no relationship is going to be perfect - there's always compromise involved, and, on the other hand, being single isn't the worst thing in the world either. Just look at Clooney, he seems to be doing just fine.