The $14,764 Cost of Winning Your Breakup

Welcome to Show the Receipts, a series where we ask interesting people to share exactly how much it costs to get shit done. No matter the task, we're tracking every last dollar from start to finish. Up next: the glow up after a break up.

Mikaela Thompson's* relationship fell victim to the roommate phase. After eight years together, she broke up with her partner in January because he felt more like a "housemate" than someone she was in a romantic relationship with. "I just knew I didn't want to be as unhappy as I had been anymore," she says.

Though the breakup came as a relief for Thompson, she also felt a huge amount of guilt. Not only was her ex partner going through the emotional stages of a breakup, but because they had been co-habitating in Thompson's house, he also had to move out and look for a new place to live. While he searched, he stayed in her home for four months, which helped with bills since they split costs, but it also created an "interesting" and "toxic" home dynamic, she says.

To avoid her ex, Thompson started exercising more, making fitness a priority by paying for a monthly gym membership ($65), yoga membership ($39), and pole-dancing fitness classes ($59). She even invested in her own pole for her home ($104). What started as a way to get out of the house and "away from the drama" quickly turned into a routine. Little did she know, this was just the beginning of her glow up.

In the months that followed, Thompson admits she's been "incredibly reckless" with her spending habits following her breakup. She has dyed her hair ($183), got lip injections ($522) and Invisalign ($3,916), and replaced her wardrobe ($457). She also booked solo vacations and attended music festivals, motivated to find herself again. And though it wasn't necessarily easy on her bank account, she says everything she has done has been absolutely worth it.

Here's the full cost breakdown eight months post-break up.

Task: glowing up after a breakup
Occupation: human resources
Location: Oxfordshire, UK

Beauty treatments: $4,621
New wardrobe: $457
Therapy: $1,256
Gym memberships: $1,408
Travel: $6,787
Live Music: $235
Total: $14,764*

*Currency has been converted from pounds to dollars

While Thompson invested a lot in her health and physical appearance, she has since realized her post-breakup glow up wasn't all about aesthetics. "If I think about it a little deeper, my glow up probably stemmed from a deep need to be wanted and desired," she says — something she realized in therapy, which she pays $157 a month for. The eight months since her break up has helped her discover who she is outside of a relationship. Below, Thompson shares more specifics.

PS: What have you spent money on during your glow up that you otherwise wouldn't have in your relationship?
Thompson: Concerts and music festivals. Going to see live music again has been a really important thing for me this year. I used to a lot before I met my ex, but he hated going to gigs, so I just stopped going too. I went to my first gig solo in June to see Poolside ($39) — a band I discovered in Mexico. Since then, I've gone to Field Day Festival ($98) and All Points East Festival ($98) too.

PS: What has been the biggest expense?
Thompson: My friend and I went to One Big Holiday music festival in Riviera Maya in Mexico, and we stayed at the Unico, a five-star resort. The trip cost us about $5,873 per person. I also went on my first ever solo trip to Croatia and had an incredible time. I managed to get my flights with AMEX points and my accommodation was about $522 for the week. I think I spent about $392 while out there. Now that I add it all up, yes, it was expensive. But I've spent the last eight years being way too sensible with money, so I'm making up for lost time.

PS: What expense for you has been worth the money?
Thompson: Therapy. I've learned so much about myself, and I don't think I would have been brave enough to try some of this stuff if I hadn't worked on myself first.

What wasn't worth the cost?
Thompson: I was a bit underwhelmed by the result of my Invisalign.

While the costs that came with her post-breakup glow up may surprise some people, Thompson doesn't have any regrets about how the money was spent. In fact, she is happier and more confident than ever before. "There's definitely still work to do, but I'm leaps and bounds better than I was. I feel like my energy has shifted a lot, and I am attracting people more."

She adds, "Even where I've made mistakes, it's all part of the learning process."

*Name has been changed

Taylor Andrews is a balance editor at PS who specializes in topics relating to sex, relationships, dating, sexual health, mental health, and more.