Speed Dating Events

Oh, so now they’re ready to talk. And talk and talk. It took shilly-shallying around before our guys were primed enough to stop and look carefully at what had happened to them. If you’ve ever had a close, platonic male friend, you know that this stage of heartbreak recovery can be the most annoying—for you, that is. Read the rest of this entry »

Nightmare #1: You’re sitting in your living room, burning votive candles, poring over photos of Him, and the phone rings. It’s your best friend, telling you that she saw the ex-love of your life at a party, drinking, laughing —laughing!— flirting, high-fiving all over the place, celebrating his newfound freedom . . . oh, and one more thing, she hates to say it (sure she does), but boy, does he ever look great. Read the rest of this entry »

To extend the financial metaphor a little, think of praise as money in your relationship’s bank account. The more praise you give, the wealthier your relationship is.

The problem is that sometimes we intend to compliment our partners but somehow hurt their feelings instead. You can avoid such pitfalls by following this advice. Read the rest of this entry »

Old Wives‘ Tale #1: The recovery period for a breakup is roughly half the length of the relationship. In other words, if you’ve just come out of a four-year romance, you can kiss the next two years good-bye. But if you were madly in love for only four months, gosh, you should be right as rain in eight short weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

10.

Can I put you on hold for one second?

9.
What a relief! I’ve been meaning to say the exact same thing to you! Read the rest of this entry »

Be an active listener.

One important way to keep an argument focused and avoid escalation is to make it clear that you’re listening to what your partner says. One way to do that, marriage educators suggest, is to employ a technique called active listening. When your partner says something, repeat it or paraphrase it as best you can and ask if you got it right. Don’t argue about it or challenge how your partner feels, he says. Understand how your partner feels and acknowledge its validity. Read the rest of this entry »

When a couple has a fight, there is no real winner.

Oh, one of you might make your point— or manage to score points off the other. But it’s a hollow victory at best. Ultimately, when a couple fights, they’re not solving problems; they’re creating them. Read the rest of this entry »

Words are hurtful enough, but if a disagreement deteriorates into a hitting, shoving, or throwing match, then you and she have a major problem on your hands. Read the rest of this entry »

It can be tough to unleash your sensuality if the object of your desire is usually backing out of the driveway as you pull in, and vice versa. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to keep the passion alive when your schedules just don’t jibe. Read the rest of this entry »

Romantic retaliation is a tricky thing. As someone once said (we think it was Alec Guinness, but maybe it was Martha Stewart), revenge is a dish that people of taste prefer to eat cold. We’re not exactly sure what that means—we think it means something like it’s better not to fly off the handle all hot-headed, but rather to seek vengeance in a cold, calculating, meticulous way. Read the rest of this entry »