He agreed ― we shouldn't be. And that was that. I'd never ended a relationship over religion. Disagreements about having children? Absolutely. Political beliefs? Yes. The guy being a jerk? Oh, sure. But if you'd asked me whether I'd break up with a man I was falling in love with over religion ― Greek Orthodox or any other ― I wouldn't have even considered it a possibility.
Dear Smacked, My former rep and one of my current reps spent an awful lot of time talking smack about me. I get I'm the boss and I won't always be liked, but as I sat and read the conversation history, I could feel my face burning in humiliation and my stomach twisting in shame. It was like high school. He and she discussed my hair, my body, the sound of my voice, what I wear. I hate to admit it gutted me.
I am a 66-year-old woman, married with two daughters. I am 5-foot-2 and weigh 108 pounds. This is not something new. But whenever there is a gathering with my in-laws, at least one of them says I need to put meat on my bones in those exact words. I think it's rude and offensive. I am certainly not telling any of them to take meat off their bones. I cannot help my size, metabolism or genetics, and I am tired of the comments.
She thinks it is just fine to kiss it right on the nose, repeatedly. She basically kisses it, and makes this "om nom nom" noise while doing so. I think it's gross, and she thinks my reaction is funny. I honestly feel ill when she does this, and can't stand the thought of kissing her afterward unless she washes up first. She thinks that makes me a loon.
What were you hoping for? To have a fun Saturday night with someone kind and easygoing. First impressions? Fred instantly made me feel very comfortable we seemed to just swing straight into conversation and have a laugh. Oh, and I noticed his lovely eyes straight away. What did you talk about? Books. Our West Country upbringings. Reality TV. Opera and theatre just about everything really. We matched each other's energy and ability to go off on tangents, so never completed a conversation or thought.
"She's been feeling low for a while and can get quite snappy at times. Today she isn't feeling great and mentioned she was going to work in the living room as she doesn't want to go into town and she doesn't want to use the home office," the man wrote. "She mentioned that I wouldn't be able to watch movies or play games as she needs to make calls and would need quiet."
It's now cuffing season, when many singles scramble to find short-term partners to help them get through the upcoming holiday season and what may seemingly be the dreariest and loneliest months of the year. Cuffing is short for handcuffing from October through March; people temporarily handcuff themselves to partners before the release in the following Spring. But before you partake in this annual singles dating ritual off the cuff-meaning without thinking it through-it's important to be mindful of the risks.
Q: I've been dating this guy for a couple of months now, and it's mostly going great. However, whenever we have a disagreement or an argument, it goes pear-shaped. It seems like he just says the opposite of what I say just to wind me up, and he refuses to back down or compromise. Sometimes it happens in bigger conversations like politics, but often it's smaller things and I don't know why he finds them to be such a big deal. I'm left feeling frustrated and hurt.
When we're under a lot of stress, our brains do something fascinating and often harmful to our relationships: They shift into scarcity mode. Often, people think of a scarcity mindset only as something related to our finances and resources: We don't have enough money, food, or time. But scarcity mindset, or the general belief that there isn't enough, impacts people in every area: their skills, their worth, their general capacity in life.
"Parallel play is when two people do unrelated things together in one space at the same time without really talking to each other," Monica Lynne, a relationship and sex therapist with the dating app Flirtini, told HuffPost. "In romantic relationships, it shows two partners can be in the same space, do their own thing and remain connected through attunement to each other."
Carrie and Ashley are both good friends of ours. We enjoy their company and accept their social invitations when offered. A few years ago, they had a kerfuffle that put a strain on their relationship. My wife and I don't want to play games or favorites, so we invite them both to events. So far, every event where they've been in the same room has resulted in some sort of unpleasantness public enough to detract from the event itself and usually ends
He micromanages my driving and there's bristling tension every time we take a journey together I love my partner, but I have never met a more annoying person to sit in the passenger seat. He micromanages me every time we take a journey together, commenting and butting in on everything, from using the car's controls (wipers, air con, radio etc) to what lane I'm in/should be in, warning me about other drivers (I can see!) and driving me insane.
Not all toxic relationship behavior looks obvious. Sometimes it's not screaming matches or cheating - it's the quiet, everyday patterns that slowly chip away at someone's confidence, boundaries, or sense of safety. Maybe it's when one partner "jokes" about the other's insecurities in front of friends, and then dismisses it with "Relax, I was just kidding." You know it's not humor - it's humiliation disguised as playfulness.
When you married into your husband's family, they welcomed you as one of their own. If I read your letter correctly, they view you as a family member, and your family as blended into their own. Because you need more privacy and boundaries than you have been able to establish, you may need your husband to help you get the message across in a way they can accept without becoming offended.
When I was researching and writing my new book, I knew that the focus would be on identifying ways to parent adult children that results in more harmonious and less stressful contact. But the farther I got into it, interviewing people and reading the research, the more I realized that every decade has its unique challenges and that I needed to fine tune how we communicate with our adult offspring based on their current stage in life.
Our nervous systems are built for survival, not harmony. In conflict, the body doesn't ask, " What will preserve this relationship?" It asks, "What will keep me safe?" In a flash, the brain floods with adrenaline and cortisol. Muscles tighten, voices rise. One partner lunges forward, fighting to win; the other freezes or flees. And for some, safety comes from fawning-placating, over-apologizing, surrendering just to stop the discomfort.
Jessica Stoya: I cannot begin to deal with the actual question until we discuss what could possibly have been going on between her hair and his semen that she had to resort to cutting some of it off. Rich Juzwiak: Right, that stuck out to me as well. Usually, all you need to do is rinse it. Jessica: I see three possibilities. One, her eyes were closed, and he actually shot her in the face and hair with something that was not semen, which would be so bizarre.
You're scrolling Instagram when you see it: your cousin, co-worker, or college roommate, beaming next to her partner and flashing her hand with a huge engagement ring. Cue the inner monologue: "Wait... How many carats is that?" Sure, your first thought might be "Aw, love!" But five seconds later, you're calculating: Is it lab-grown? Is it moissanite? What did that thing cost?
Dear Uninhibited Roomie, In United States culture (at least), it is completely reasonable to expect that anyone you encounter in a nonsexual/non-relationship context will be clothed. If someone is comfortable with being nude casually, it is up to them to announce this to and confirm that it's OK with anyone who might have them in eyeshot. There shouldn't be surprises unless they are completely accidental (like, if your roommate thought he was home alone, but oops, wasn't).
Dear Forced, I really wish I could get a glass of wine with you and hear about a million more details about your relationship with your mother-in-law, husband, and even this poor, anxious dog. But in the absence of knowing how you feel about these mammals, I've developed a conspiracy theory: Is it possible your MIL brought Chari on purpose, knowing you'd have to leave, because she was craving some solo time with her son?
