Among the many things that didn’t make it through the pandemic, like my former job and a questionable set of blunt bangs, my long-term relationship similarly disintegrated in mid-2022. After seven years together, five lease renewals, and two Brooklyn apartments, my ex and I were left with the unfortunate prospect of splitting the tangible components of our shared life together. While some things, like my beloved hairless cat, Wilson, remained with me in our former home without question, others had to be divided up over a series of text messages.
Anyone who has gone through a tough breakup will understand how devastating it is to look around a room full of furniture and decide what is worth fighting over and what is ultimately easier to relinquish. The sofa in particular seems to be caught in the crosshairs most often (given that it’s an expense most comfortably split between a newly cohabitating couple), and after speaking with friends and acquaintances who have gone through similar experiences, buying a “breakup couch” appears to be a surprisingly universal experience.
I’ll admit that deciding on our original couch was an arduous process—with the typical budget restrictions of 20-somethings living in New York City, my ex and I spent weeks pouring over options online before finally pulling the trigger on a midcentury-modern tufted leather sofa. It was long and wide enough to host friends from out of town in our one-bedroom apartment (the luxury of a guest room was still a foreign concept at the time), and the buttery soft leather luckily looked better with each year—and the occasional accidental red wine stain. It was hardy, comfortable, and sufficiently stylish, although I’ll admit that I always craved something a bit more outside the box, designwise.
But like the ebb and flow of design trends, my ex and I ultimately outgrew each other and were left to make a decision about who would keep our first major home purchase together. In the end it was simple—he still liked the couch, and I wanted something softer, more feminine, and most importantly, that was just mine. So I agreed to let him have it, and in exchange he insisted I keep it until I bought something new, which, thanks to shipping delays, meant it would remain in my apartment for another nine weeks.
Deciding on what couch to buy was relatively simple, all things considered. I had already been stalking Sarah Ellison’s Muse Sofa for months, taking mental notes whenever it popped up on my social media feeds to determine how much of my savings I was willing to shell out to buy it (thankfully my dad was willing to help out his newly single daughter). Once my ex moved out of the apartment, I finally made a pilgrimage to Design Within Reach in Midtown to visit it in person for a sit test and to swoon over the sofa’s luxe caramel-colored velvet and sensual curves—the sculptural design of the two-seater felt like it was made for solo lounging, with just enough room for me and the cat.
