‘Mum wants a grandchild, but I love being on my own’
Sophie Kasaei was in a seven-year relationship with her co-star ex, DJ Joel Corry, until 2017 and broke up with her most recent boyfriend Lee Gray in October. She says, “It’s taken me a long time to become completely happy while single. My 20s were taken up by being in a relationship and I thought I’d be settled down at 26, but life just gives you twists and turns. I was a little bit lost for a while, but then I got to my 30s and something just clicked. It was like, ‘You need to embrace this because you can’t change it’. I’m 32 now and I love being on my own. Being single has helped me find my identity, and I love having my freedom. There’s no book to say you need to do this at that age, you need to be settled down at 30. I would rather someone meets me now that I’m older, wiser, and more successful than when I was in my 20s.
“My nan doesn’t really get it – she keeps saying that she prays I’m going to meet the most amazing man and settle down. And my mum always tells me she’d love a grandchild.
It is pressure. But I’m like,
‘It’s 2022, Mum! We’re not in your day and age where it was normal to have kids and do nothing with your life’.
“Some people think they’re lonely, so they try to fill the void and, because people have the pressure of coupling up at a certain age, they’re settling down and having babies with the wrong people. Then in a couple of years, they’re like, ‘What the hell have I done? I rushed into that’. They put a lot of pressure on themselves and end up being unhappy. I’ve enjoyed waiting and finding more out about myself rather than just jumping to the next relationship for the sake of it. I don’t need to meet someone to be happy – I get my happiness elsewhere.”