Brooke Eden On Why the Perfect Valentine’s Day Is Being Surrounded by Loved Ones

Valentine’s Day tends to be a holiday of extremes — most people either love it or hate it. During an interview with Brooke Eden backstage before her performance at Crash My Playa 2017 in Riviera Maya, Mexico, the singer shared with Sounds Like Nashville her idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day whether you’re single or in a relationship.

“I think the perfect Valentine’s Day is being with people that you love,” she tells Sounds Like Nashville. “It could be one person or it could be a bunch of people that you love, and surrounding yourself with people who respect you and who you respect.”

Eden says she doesn’t see the holiday solely being about romantic love. She fondly remembers Valentine’s Days spent around dinner with her mom or her girlfriends.

“Those were some of the most fun Valentine’s Days for me,” she says with a smile. “The perfect Valentine’s Day would be being with people that you love without any kind of agenda. Just having a good day to really honor and respect love.”

For some, being alone on Valentine’s Day is difficult especially if a recent breakup is involved. Country fans can find solace in Eden’s new single, “Act Like You Don’t,” which hits radio on Feb. 13. Written with Cary Barlowe and Jesse Frasure, the song is an all too real storyline about the hardships one faces at the end of a relationship where the temptation to keep seeing each other remains strong.

Eden says writing the song helped her get over a breakup and she hopes it does the same for others. She recalls pitching the concept to her co-writers who instantly understood the idea.

“I had gotten out of a relationship and it was that [time] where you just breakup and you still love each other, but you broke up because you know that you’re not right for each other,” she says of the sometimes toxic end. “When you’re getting out of a relationship you don’t want them texting you saying, ‘I love you,’ or ‘I miss you,’ or ‘Can I just drop by?’ anymore. In order to move forward you can’t do that.”

So what advice would Eden give a girl who finds herself in the situation that “Act Like You Don’t” describes around Valentine’s Day? She suggests spending time with a solid group of friends and not vegging out home alone on the couch watching chick flicks.

“Surround yourself with your girlfriends because if you’re around your friends they’re going to be like, ‘No. Do not answer that phone!'” she says. “You can’t sit there and watch ‘P.S. I Love You.’ Whatever you do, don’t do that. Go and order pizza or tacos with your friends and all relish in the fact that it’s okay to be single this year. That’s what you do. But definitely don’t spend it with Ben & Jerry’s while watching P.S. I Love You.”

Brooke Eden’s new single “Act Like You Don’t” is out now.