Marriage, romance, and intimacy have long been framed by traditional expectations: find a partner, settle down, and live “happily ever after.” Headlines repeatedly lament rising rates of singlehood among Black women, framing these statistics as evidence of a crisis. But what if these numbers tell a very different story? Amanda explores how “strategic singlehood” is reshaping the lives of Black women and finds out how they are redefining intimacy, community and their “happily ever after.”

In this episode, Amanda Parris travels across borders to meet women who are rejecting conventional scripts and embracing a new way of imagining love, intimacy, and fulfilment. She travels to London, LA, Accra and Toronto, she goes to theatre plays, gets a massage, goes on a seniors bus trip and participates in a paint n’ sip. She speaks with writers, influencers, actors, divorcees and community organisers and also opens the door to also hear the perspectives of Black single men.

Amanda and her guests expose how Black women’s lives are too often misrepresented or flattened into stereotypes. What emerges is a richer, more nuanced understanding of what it means to create a life that looks remarkably different from the romance novels and movies we grew up with.

Beyond Happily Ever After challenges stereotypes and amplifies the voices of Black single folks worldwide, asking what it truly means to love—and to live—on your own terms.

Part of For the Culture, Series 2.