You can be lonely in a relationship and fine on your own. Who’s next to you doesn’t decide it.

Company and connection are different supplies, and having one does not guarantee the other. Sitting next to somebody for two years while nothing true gets said is a particular kind of empty. Meanwhile a person on their own with two real friendships can be perfectly well fed.

The question is not how many people are around, but how much of you is known by any of them. If the answer is very little, the fix is one honest conversation rather than a bigger circle. Start with whoever is most likely to listen, and say one true thing you usually keep back.