There might be a group of people who are better off being single.

From early childhood through to adolescence, women are often told that there is one goal to strive towards. That is to find a partner to settle down with and to live happily ever after.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting the white dress and the happy ending. And for many, monogamy, marriage and family life is the perfect combination to happiness and success.

But in 2015, with people waiting longer to settle down and many finding themselves unexpectedly single later in life after losing partners to death and divorce, there are more single people than ever.

Read More: “We tried a few weeks of being ‘single’ but then found something better.”

And many are finding that not only is there nothing wrong with being alone, but that they are actually quite content with their single status.

For those that are happily single, it can be grating to be bombarded with constant reminders from well-meaning loved ones and strangers that they would be happier in a relationship.

Just ask the crowd of single women who can be heard audibly groaning as they are unwittingly dragged into the centre of a dance floor at a wedding to fight for the chance to score themselves a bunch of discarded flowers.

Read More: Father's Day when you're a single mum.

Dr Bella M. DePaulo, an author and social psychologist at the University of California says that the idea that woman are better off in a relationship is an old-fashioned message.

"It's this idea that you can be single, have your big career and all your friends, but that's not the route to happiness, it's not deep or meaningful like marriage is," Dr DePaulo told WebMD. "That's ridiculous. The best friendships often last longer than marriages... you don't have ridiculous expectations of your friends like you do a spouse."

Marriage has often being described as a broken institution that in many ways is no longer necessary. With a rising divorce rate across the Western world it's clear that tying the knot is not necessarily the key to a lifetime of monogamy.

And as women continue to become more financially and professionally independent from their spouses, life is better than ever for single women and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that when it comes to marital breakdowns, it's more often the women that are applying for divorce.

Not only are women applying for divorce, but they're also seeking out romantic relationships outside their homes. When the recent Ashley Madison hack exposed over 30 million married people who were seeking out extra-marital affairs, many paused to ask if we are meant to be monogamous?

Although the data breach revealed that the majority of people using the service were men - with Business Insider reporting that 31 million accounts belonged to men, compared to 5 million accounts held by women - it's not just the men who are doing the dirty.

Over the last two decades, the National Opinion Research Centres's General Social Survey has found that the number of women cheating on their husbands has risen almost 40%.

Of course, infidelity isn't the only reason that marriages end. Sometimes, two people just outgrow each other or discover that they are no longer compatible. And while it is accepted that relationship breakdowns are just a fact of life - would we really be happier if we were single?

TAP THE IMAGE and click through the gallery for celebrities and characters who have embraced their single status. Post continues below...

Previous research that suggests that married people are happier than their single counterparts has recently been debunked, with a new study from the University of Auckland finding that our relationship status has little effect on our happiness.

By comparing single people and married couples with "avoidance" and "approach" goals, the University's School of Psychology found that our happiness is often dependent on our motivations.

Single people with high avoidance goals that try to avoid conflict are likely to be just as happy and content as a married couple with similar avoidance motivations.

Read More: The single biggest complaint single women tell relationship counsellors. 

Those with high approach goals - who try to enhance their relationships - are both happier than their avoidance goal counterparts regardless of their relationship status, although the study did find that people with approach goals do experience a greater level of happiness when they are coupled up.

Of course, you don't need a partner to be happy with your life and their are many different ways in which woman can be emotionally fulfilled.

And as many people who have gone through a bitter relationship break up would attest - they'd rather be happy and single than in a relationship that brings them down.

Are you happier single or in a relationship?