100 Break-up quotes to light the way through heartache.

These break-up quotes stir reflection, offer closure, and inspire new beginnings.

Design with your quote

Background

Good break-up quotes for every story’s end.

Conventional wisdom says that break-ups are the end of romantic relationships, and that they’re sad. This one-size-fits-all approach misses other break-ups, however, like those that happen between friends, or those you’re happy to see go.

Humankind has mused on break-ups from every imaginable angle, leaving us a treasure trove of good break-up quotes from poets, artists, and even political leaders. These range from validating to empowering, and each has a point to make.

Choose the perfect break-up quotes and use them in cards or letters of support, or in social media posts to share your journey and inspire others. These break-up quotes are tools to heal and grow from the experience.

style
long-form
Table of Contents:

Sad Break-up Quotes

Positive After Break-up Quotes

Break-up Quotes for healing

Funny Break-up Quotes

Friendship Break-up Quotes

Sad break-up quotes to lean into the pain.

Many break-ups are, in fact, sad. Some are even devastating. The first step to heal is often to lean into the pain and allow ourselves to feel it.

Understanding our emotions can require some heavy introspection, because “heartbroken” doesn’t cover it. These sad break-up quotes describe some of the other feelings, too, making them useful windows into our hearts and minds.

Think about how you could use these quotes as tools of reflection for yourself, or in cards and letters for others. Whatever you can think up, it’s all easy to make in Adobe Express — no experience required.

style
long-form
I am hopelessly in love with a memory. An echo from another time, another place.”

Michael Faudet

Sometimes, sadness after a break-up is the feeling of missing a version of someone that no longer exists.

It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise.”
Sara Teasdale
Sometimes, I don’t know what haunts me more. The memories of you...or the happy person I used to be.”

Ranata Suzuki

It isn’t wrong to indulge in feelings of sadness after a break-up. Sometimes, at least for a time, it’s necessary.

Thinking of you is a poison I drink often.”
Atticus
Sadness flies away on the wings of time.”
Jean de La Fontaine
You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.”

Jan Glidewell

When sadness from a break-up gets in the way of living, that’s when it no longer serves its purpose.

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.”
Chinese Proverb
When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters anymore. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace.”

George Bernard Shaw

This quote is heart-wrenching at first, but evokes a feeling of relief in its wake.

I’d rather love a million times and have my heart broken every time, than hold a permanently empty heart forever.”
H.C. Paye
The hottest love has the coldest end.”

Socrates

A short quote like this one becomes an adage to see how, sometimes, it’s the shortest-lived loves whose endings hurt the most.

Sometimes, forever doesn’t happen. And that’s something we all occasionally forget.”

Dominic Riccitello

Break-ups by divorce stir their own level of pain and disappointment. The sadness of broken vows is captured in this quote.

Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the one person who you thought would never hurt you.”
Gugu Mofokeng
The broken heart. You think you will die, but you keep living, day after day after terrible day.”

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

The saddest days might not be terribly productive ones, but even in misery, we keep living. This quote could be one of encouragement in a card to someone who needs it.

We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, or else my heart, concealing it, will break.”

William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

This quote could start a letter to a friend as a sort of frame for why you need to rehash the break-up to keep processing it.

Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.”
Rumi
There is an ocean of silence between us...and I am drowning in it.”

Ranata Suzuki

It’s hard to find the words to describe what missing someone feels like when a break comes abruptly. This quote captures it in a deeply relatable metaphor.

You can’t have heartbreak without love. If your heart was really broken, then at least you know you really loved him.”

Leila Sales, Past Perfect

It’s tempting to minimize how much someone meant to us if the break-up hurt, but heartbreak is an outcome of love.

When we miss someone often, what we really miss is the part of us that with this someone awakens.”
Luigina Sgarro
And they can’t understand, what hurts more — missing the other person, or pretending not to.”
Khadija Rupa
Background
Rgb(248, 248, 248)

Positive after break-up quotes to flip the script.

After reflecting, acknowledging our feelings, and putting everything we’ve learned into words, positive after break-up quotes flip the script to gain forward momentum.

Imagine what you could do with these break-up motivational quotes in posters,photo collages, and more. You could even use them in a celebratory break-up banner, in some cases. Why not?

Once you find the perfect break-up inspirational quotes, the world starts making sense again. It’s easier to put one foot in front of the other, too, because it finally feels like you’re going somewhere great.

style
long-form
We too, like trees can shake off our dead leaves and begin again.”

A.Y. Greyson

This visual lends itself perfectly to a poster or a card.

You get through it. It's a process that's not easy, but I get less and less sad about it every day.”
Ryan Phillippe
Holding on is believing that there’s a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.”

Daphne Rose Kingma

The more we think about the future as a place of opportunity, the easier it is to let go of the past.

The only way out is through.”
Robert Frost, Servant to Servant
Every time you thought you couldn’t keep moving forward, you did. Take a moment to appreciate your strength.”

Karen Salmanson

Try listing out all the times you’ve gotten through something difficult. How many times did you think you couldn’t go on, but you did?

If you truly want to be respected by people you love, you must prove to them that you can survive without them.”

Michael Bassey Johnson, The Infinity Sign

The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. Moving on means thriving after the break-up.

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein
That’s all you can do in this world, no matter how strong the current beats against you, or how heavy your burden, or how tragic your love story. You keep going.”
Robyn Schneider
I always get to where I am going by walking away from where I have been.”
A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
Keep your face always toward the sunshine — and shadows will fall behind you.”
Walt Whitman
If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”

Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

Some break-ups leave us unsure how to define ourselves on our own. This quote says, go live life and you’ll rediscover who you really are.

Don't worry. Just when you think your life is over, a new storyline falls from the sky and lands right in your lap.”

Rebekah Crane

Break-up inspirational quotes like this one are perfect for cards of encouragement.

I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today and I will smile tomorrow. Simply because life is too short to cry for anything.”
Santosh Kalwar
After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), Gone with the Wind

This short quote can fit easily onto a banner or into an Instagram story.

I will not allow myself to not feel chosen every single day. And I’ll wait till whenever that is.”
Hannah Brown
Hope, smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'...”

Alfred Lord Tennyson

This personification of hope is both imaginative and memorable.

There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

C.S. Lewis

A little optimism toward the future always helps. Consider using this quote in a letter or a collage of bucket-list things you plan to do post-break-up.

Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled.”
Ally Condie
The way they leave tells you everything.”

Rupi Kaur, Answers

Use a break-up as a litmus test to see what kind of person someone really is. What you learn might make it easier to move on.

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.”
Washington Irving
Background
Rgb(248, 248, 248)

Break-up quotes for healing and growing stronger.

When we fall down — emotionally, physically, or professionally —it’s discouraging to look at how high we once were. We want nothing more than to get back to that point. The climb up is arduous, however, and it’s never as fast as we want.

The good news is that we often build ourselves back up stronger than ever. Like an athlete who reduces training between seasons, then comes back and trains into better condition than before, these break-up quotes for healing do the same for our emotional health. Once we’re ready to grow and live life again, these quotes build us back up even stronger.

style
long-form
I know my heart will never be the same. But I'm telling myself I'll be okay.”

Sara Evans, A Little Bit Stronger

Building yourself back up is easier with positive affirmations like this one.

You will need to allow your mind to take it all in so that by the time you get back up on your feet, you know how you feel.”

Lauren Conrad

The knowledge we gain about ourselves, our needs, and our experiences after a break-up gives us sturdier ground to build on.

I am beginning to feel like the only way to truly get over someone that you cared a lot about is to start a new chapter.”
Mindy, The Mindy Project
The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”
Steve Maraboli
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.”

Lao Tzu

What you become and what you receive can both redefine your life in ways you can’t yet imagine.

Every woman that finally figured out her worth, has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change.”
Shannon L. Alder
You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.”

Michael McMillian

This could be a great prompt in a social media post.

To fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful.”
Bess Myerson
It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I’ve learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place.”
Angelina Jolie
So many things become beautiful when you really look.”

Lauren Oliver, Before I Fall

Wherever you find the beauty in life post break-up, you start to cultivate a garden of possibilities.

We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

Joseph Campbell

Imagine a motivational poster emblazoned with this message.

A very wise man once told me that you can’t look back — you just have to put the past behind you, and find something better in your future.”
Jodi Picoult
Everybody has bad relationships and, at the end of the day, they are just a great way to set yourself up for a good relationship.”

Anne Hathaway

One of the most valuable things to take with you from any break-up is a clearer idea of what kind of relationship you really want.

The great courageous act that we must all do, is to have the courage to step out of our history and past so that we can live our dreams.”

Oprah Winfrey

If you weren’t where you wanted to be in the past, you’ll never get where you want to go if you keep re-visiting.

Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
Marilyn Monroe
Whatever you do, never run back to what broke you.”
Frank Ocean
The pain of letting go will be eclipsed by the relief of moving on.”

Scott Stabile

If this sounds like a headspace you want to be in, keep moving.

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”
Maya Angelou
So for now I say goodbye to this chapter of my life and I look forward to what comes next.”
Brooke Davis, One Tree Hill
Sometimes, moving forward changes what's behind you.”
Kami Garcia

Funny break-up quotes to find the humor in heartbreak.

You might notice how many funny break-up quotes come from movies and TV shows. Why? Because, when it comes to heartache and rejection, we rarely see humor when we’re living it. In the context of characters in relatable situations, however, laughter bellows from the depths of our own experiences.

Funny break-up quotes serve many purposes. As the perfect break-up quotes for Instagram, they earn laughs from friends and followers. They can also shed light on the humor of your own break-up once you’re ready to move on.

Choose your favorite funny break-up quotes and imagine what they can do — for you, for a friend, or for the world at large.

style
long-form
I never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.”
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Only time can heal his heart, just as only time can heal his broken arms and legs.”

Miss Piggy

Among funny break-up quotes for him, this one says, “things could be worse.”

I love you, but I love me more.”

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Sex and the City

When you’re the one dumping someone, it’s tempting to use this line.

It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
Lewis Carroll
Because when I watch you eat, when I see you asleep, when I look at you lately, I just want to smash your face in.”

Barbara Rose (Kathleen Turner), The War of the Roses

For a break-up that leaves you saying, “good riddance,” this quote hits the nail on the head.

It’s over. Please get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up.”
Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler), The Wedding Singer
I like my relationships like I like my eggs — over easy.”

Jared Kintz

No break-up drama, please.

Love lasts about seven years. That’s how long it takes for the cells of the body to totally replace themselves.”
Francoise Sagan
One day they’ll realize they lost a diamond while playing with worthless stones.”

Turcois Ominek

Some break-up quotes are perfect for the time someone chooses another (or others) over you, but you know you’re the real deal.

If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
RuPaul
I don’t know how to say goodbye. I can’t think of any words.”
Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn), Roman Holiday
If you take the L out of lover, it’s over.”

The Motels, “Take the L”

Pair this quote with the original song in an Instagram story, and you have a fun way to announce a break-up.

A girl doesn’t need anyone who doesn’t need her.”

Marilyn Monroe

This quote can be remixed and used as a break-up quote for him, too. No boy needs anyone who doesn’t need him, either.

Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.”

Mark Twain

Sit with this for a while. Practicing self-love often requires stepping away from relationships that are situational instead of unconditional.

A relationship, I think, is like a shark. It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”
Alvy Singer (Woody Allen), Annie Hall
You fell in love with a storm. Did you really think you would get out unscathed?”
Nikita Gill
She’s gone. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.”
Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), Say Anything
The best way to mend a broken heart is time and girlfriends.”

Gwyneth Paltrow

Break-up quotes for her lean into the support that gals can only get from their girlfriends.

I won’t play the sap for you.”
Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), The Maltese Falcon
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), Gone With the Wind

Whether you want to announce a break-up in asocial post or send one final message to an ex, this quote hits home.

Background
Rgb(248, 248, 248)

Friendship break-up quotes for platonic heartache.

Break-ups aren’t just for romantic couples. It’s common to see friendships shift or fizzle out as people grow, but there are the occasions when an abrupt break-up takes place. Maybe two friends have a fight, or maybe an entire group of friends disowns someone. Many people find friendship break-ups just as painful as romantic ones, and sometimes more.

These friendship break-up quotes offer solace and space to reflect. They also find the silver lining and help identify the friends who will stick with you through thick and thin.

These quotes are especially useful for personal motivation in posters and photo collages. They also make a statement to all your other friends when shared on social media. Find the friendship break-up quotes that resonate with you and take some time to think about what you could do with each.

style
long-form
You stop revisiting memories when you outgrow the people you made them with.”

Nikki Rowe

If you look at a break-up critically, you might find that rather than different directions, you actually grew when a friend didn’t.

My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.”
Maya Angelou
The greatest win is walking away and choosing not to engage in drama and toxic energy at all.”
Lalah Delia
If it doesn't agree with your spirit let it go.”
Germany Kent
Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.”

Oscar Wilde

If you’ve ever had a friendship break-up feel more devastating than any romantic one, this quote sheds light on why.

Some people are going to leave, but that’s not the end of your story. That’s the end of their part in your story.”
Faraaz Kazi
Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Game of Thrones
Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.”

Herman Hesse

Friendship break-ups sometimes lead to one person holding on tighter, desperate to salvage the friendship. Any relationship is a two-way street, however, and if one person has checked out, it’s over.

Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”
Robert Brault
A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship.”

Saint Francis de Sales

There are occasions when a friendship can be rekindled after a break-up. For those cases, this quote sends a powerful message.

The truth is, I should be angry, resentful and disillusioned about relationships. But I'm not. Love did not work with that person. But it can work with another.”

Eva Longoria

This quote was originally in reference to a romantic relationship, but it’s equally true for friends. We have no finite limit on the love we can give to friends who are worth it.

Someday you’re gonna look back on this moment of your life as such a sweet time of grieving. You’ll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
You really don’t have to burn any bridges to let go; you don’t have to destroy anything. You can just decide to cross over and move on.”

Marta Mrotek

Friendship break-ups sometimes incite drama. You don’t have to take the bait, though. Don’t burn bridges or make the experience even harder than it is.

If you really want closure...at some point, you have to shut the door.”
Jacki Wells Wunderlin
You can't move things by not moving.”
Suzy Kassem
Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

This quote could be a powerful mantra on a poster or personal collage.

I'm not sure what the future holds but I do know that I'm going to be positive and not wake up feeling desperate.”
Nicole Kidman
It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn't matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.”
Paulo Coelho, The Zahir
Letting go is hard but being free is beautiful.”

Wilder Poetry

To be “free” of a friendship that had serious problems, this quote captures the outcome perfectly.

It makes no sense to try to extend a friendship that was only meant to be a season into a lifetime.”

Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

Sometimes, a friendship serves a purpose only for a time, and that’s OK.

Background
Rgb(248, 248, 248)

Tips to use break-up quotes in clever new ways.

Break-up quotes first seem like a deeply personal thing. At most, you would use them as motivational quips to send to friends.

Good break-up quotes, however, can be used in surprising ways. They can transform spaces and objects into sources of comfort, reflection, or even humor.

For example, consider:

Exercise: how to pick the best break-up quotes for you.

How do you choose the best break-up quotes to use for a specific project? Are you the one who needs the inspiration? Or are you making something for someone else?

Here’s how to choose the best break-up quotes for every situation:

List all the quotes you’re considering.
Rate them (most to least) based on the emotional response they inspire — which one gets closest to the emotion you want to evoke?
Of those that rank best, think about where you could use each one if your goal is to provide daily inspiration.
Of those that ranked best, think about where you could use each if your goal is to provide convenient access when inspiration is needed.
Based on your answers, decide which quote and which format best fit the emotional response you’re after.
style
long-form

Adobe Express can help.

Adobe Express has templates and customization tools to put your favorite break-up quotes to work. If you want to use break-up quotes in cards, letters, posters, banners, photo collages, social media posts, or other creative projects, Adobe Express makes it as simple as picking a template and personalizing it, or making your own idea with easy-to-use tools. Whatever message you want to transmit, Adobe Express brings it to life, no experience required.

Design with your quote

style
long-form