We’re not happy about this—we liked Lindsay with Sam—but TMZ claims their official breakup news is “solid.” We saw it coming. Lindsay have hopped on her blog and is saying otherwise. Whatevs. I kind of believe it. [TMZ]

I’m still adjusting to single life since my breakup, but I’m making a lot of progress, and it’s gotten me thinking about what kind of person I want to be with in the future. For most of my life, instead of approaching relationships with a checklist, I was flattered someone—anyone—was interested in me, and I didn’t stop to question whether we had much in common. In some ways, my ex was perfect for me, but in others we weren’t so compatible. Both the good and the bad taught me about what I want next time.

Writing about dating is my full-time job, so, naturally, I hear a lot of pretty deranged tales of love gone wrong. But last week I received a letter from a woman who was convinced that men wouldn’t go out with her because she was just too … beautiful.

She fully believed her breathtaking attractiveness was anything but a man-magnet—as one might expect. Instead, she said, her beauty acted as a Romeo-repellant, causing suitors to run screaming from her. Obviously, I explained the situation to her (perhaps it wasn’t her gorgeous outsides, but her narcissistic insides that were doing the damage), but it did get me to thinking about all the other ridiculous reasons that women—myself included—come up with when they get dumped.

A breakup almost always sucks, but this time of year it can be especially painful. The good news is the holidays can also serve as a wonderful distraction from your heartache—and you don’t have to worry about shelling out money for a gift (or acting delighted when he gives you socks again). Luckily, not only are there plenty of reasons to love being single at this time of year, there are lots of ways to ease your loneliness, process your feelings, and improve your mood, too.

There seems to be a lot of infidelity lately—just look at some of the biggest celebrity breakup of 2008. But not all cheating leads to splits. In an article that ran in London’s Sunday Times, writer Kate Spice investigates why wives have stood by their men even as they’re sleeping with someone else. Some of the reasons for staying with an adulterous spouse were:

-For the kids’ sake.
-Because she doesn’t want to have sex (and letting her husband have a mistress is akin to hiring someone to clean the house).
-For the good of a family business.
-As long as he comes back, it isn’t doing any harm.
-Love.

Is there anything that would make you want to stay with a man who cheated on you? Tell us in the comments…

Over the weekend, The New York Times’ advice column, “Social Q’s,” got a query from a recently dumped girl who just couldn’t seem to cheer up. Writer Philip Galanes pointed out, the proper soundtrack can get you grooving to your own gloom!  He singled out Pink’s new anthem about getting back out there after her own divorce, “So What.”  He then encouraged the sad soul to sing along at full blast until it became her new mantra: “So, so what/I’m still a rock star/I’ve got my rock moves/And I don’t need you.” Yeah, that’s some solid (as a rock) advice! But Pink isn’t the only one who has weathered the storm after a split.  Since misery loves company, here are The Frisky’s picks for beating the blues to get you back in the mood to be your butt-kicking self!

Hi, I’m Dr. V.  I’m not a real doctor, I just play one on the Internet. What I am is a lady, a lady who is a fool for love! And I love nothing more than sex. My passion for pleasure has happily led me on many adventures in the sack, but has also, sadly, made me one of my gyno’s most valuable players. But I’ve lived to tell the tale(s)! So, from time to time, I will dish the dirt on everything from getting freaky to getting freaked out. Now, let’s get this party started…

So you’re suddenly single and you’ve got a metaphorical itch in your crotch and need someone to scratch it. While breaking up is hard to do, some of the best sex stories are about rebounding. It’s one part luck, one part needs, one part reckless abandon. When your heart is broken, you have to be reminded that your feminine wiles still work, perfectly.

A certain woman in my life wants to know what guys are thinking when a breakup goes down. So here it goes. We think about beer. And drinking it. And how drinking said beer will help us get lucky with the la-a-dies. The ladies with the righteous hoots.

Alright, fine. That was a sweeping gender generalization.  A crude, cheap oversimplification of the masculine condition… But that doesn’t stop it from being true.

Last week, we covered how to avoid being a bad heartbreaker, so this week we’ll tackle the other side of things. Coincidentally, it’s a side of dating I’m far more familiar with: how to accept being dumped with dignity.

Just as there are myriad ways to screw up breaking someone’s heart, the possibilities for botching a “getting-broken-up-with” are limitless. Here are some behaviors to avoid so you won’t compound your heartache with a total loss of self respect.

Raise your hand if you’ve never had a broken heart. You there, in the back? Yeah, you can leave. The rest of us know that breaking up truly is hard to do. They say it takes roughly half the time you were with someone to get over them, but who really has a year or two to kill the ghost of a relationship gone wrong? If you handle the first month after a breakup right, you’ll be on a better track to move forward more quickly. We’re not suggesting that you can get over it completely and wake up on Day 31 ready to jump back into dating—though if you accomplish that, we might want to bring you in as some kind of breakup expert. But there’s a lot you can do (and, yes, not do) in the first 30 days after a breakup to mitigate the fallout.

There are many post breakup stages that a person can feel—anger, sadness, resentment, hatred, insecurity, just to name a few.  However, at some point, one of your bolder friends will make that typical fast fix suggestion that “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”  Do I agree with this? Ehh. For some, a rebound only makes the split hurt more. I would suggest starting with a little flirting, maybe some kissing, and take it from there. But one thing I do believe in is “The Grace Period.”

There are two sides to almost every breakup — the dumper and the dumpee. (Sorry, I don’t buy those “mutual” decision splits. I’m sure they happen, but they’re as rare as a fat cell on Madonna’s rear end, so they don’t count.) While it’s ideal when both sides leave the relationship with dignity, it’s much easier to be the Gracious Ex when you’re the dumper. After all, it was your bright idea to break up. You’ve had time to wrap your head around it, and really, who are you kidding? You probably have a replacement lined up already. So, we’re going to start with you, the breaker-upper, because your list of “How Not to Be” is a lot shorter. Without further adieu, you definitely should not ...

They said it wouldn’t last…and it didn’t. Another “Bachelorette” pairing bit the dust this week, as Jesse Csincsak announced on the couple’s website that he and DeAnna Pappas had split, via YouTube video. Warning: It is kind of painful to watch. It seems DeAnna told Jesse that she loves him but isn’t “in love” with him. CLICHE ALERT! Apparently, “The Bachelorette” would only be physically affectionate with Jesse when the cameras were pointed at them, which seems like a pretty bad sign to me. Anyway, does this mean that DeAnnaAndJesse.com is going to be no more? [People]

I’ve come to the conclusion that the absolute worst part of going through a breakup is that one of the common reactions is insane distrust—distrust of yourself, the person you were with, and of the relationship’s meaning. This is something I’ve been struggling with throughout my break/breakup/“separation” from my fiance, which has officially gone on for seven weeks exactly. Unfortunately, I may be aware that I’m filled with doubt, but I haven’t quite figured out how to stop doing it. After the jump, about 10,000 questions totally plaguing me.

It’s no secret that those in charge of deciding what and who deserves a holiday, the legal system, the government, and even the universe has something against single people. That explains why people getting married get to register for whatever expensive crap they want and people actually buy it for them—because we’ve been inudated since birth with the knowledge that people who are in love DESERVE PRESENTS.

Well, I’m here to say, that’s B.S. Why don’t we have divorce registries? And parties for people who have just been dumped and no longer have pots and pans because they’re crummy ex took them when he moved out? I got lost four times driving to Ikea this weekend because the ex took our (okay, his) dresser so I needed a new one. I didn’t end up buying a dresser, however, because A) the box weighed 300 pounds and I’m too pathetically weak to carry it and B) I don’t have a second person to help me put furniture together anymore anyway. I did come home with candles, wine glasses, and picture frames.

I posted earlier about chopping off seven inches of hair after finally deciding that my break was not a breakup. While a cliche, it was a defining moment that signified my new perspective on the future. Luckily, as many of you so kindly pointed out, it turned out to look good too. (I swear, I didn’t post the before and after photos in a desperate search for compliments, but I sure do appreciate them!) But as some of you pointed out in the comments, the MAJOR haircut is not the only action many women take post-breakup. After the jump, five other major changes and steps women often make in their quest to get over a broken heart and start a new phase in life.

Right now I’m going to be one of those slightly pathetic girls who reference an episode of “Sex and the City” to try and make a point, but then again who am I kidding, because I learned a lot from those four ladies.  Thinking back to season three, when Charlotte was on the cusp of marrying Trey and found out she was getting locked into a shady prenuptial agreement has got me wondering about the subject. If I got married right now and my fiancé and I decided to have a prenuptial agreement, what the hell would he even be able to take from me?  My favorite pillow? My DVR? My favorite necklaces? Oh wait I already lost those a week ago.

Sooner or later, everybody falls in love. When it’s good, it’s freaking amazing: birds sing, the sun shines, your Mom doesn’t annoy you so much and your checks are perpetually rosy, When it doesn’t work out, however, it burns like the fiery pits of hell. All that was good with the world has been obliterated – along with your self-esteem. And the way you’ll likely add insult to injury be inflicting even more torture upon yourself – well, that’s not so pretty either. Either you can’t eat or you’re eating pint after pint of Ben & Jerry’s, you’re sleeping all day or not sleeping at all or you’ve either abandoned all personal grooming habits or, in a particularly “screw-it” moment, went and got a majorly unflattering short haircut [Or a totally flattering one!—Editor] or tattoo. As a post-dumpage Lloyd Dobler was labeled by his buddies outside the Gas ‘n Sip in “Say Anything”, you’re null and void.