Dear Daniel,

I’ve been struggling with depression for some time, but thankfully, I have a strong support system, a great therapist, and a loving wife.

My therapist suggested we explore our love languages to better understand each other, and it was an eye-opener.

Turns out, physical touch is a major part of how I feel loved (42% on the quiz!)—which makes perfect sense to me. The problem? My wife has fibromyalgia, and touch is often painful for her.

She does what she can—placing her hand over mine, quick pecks on the cheek—but if I’m honest, it feels like trying to survive in a desert with just a few drops of water.

Beyond this, our relationship is solid.

We communicate well, spend time together, and support each other.

She was the one who encouraged me to talk to you, as you helped her sister and my brother-in-law.

Daniel, Celeste is my biggest advocate. But intimacy—deep, connected physical affection—is almost nonexistent. We have sex just a few times a year, and even passionate kissing is rare. I feel lost.

I don’t want to pressure her, and I don’t want to become resentful. I just want to be the best partner I can be. How do I stop wanting physical intimacy? Is that even possible?

Sincerely,
Phillip

Somewhere along the way, relationships became a full-time self-improvement project.

Love isn’t just love anymore—it’s an endless excavation of attachment styles, emotional triggers, and personal growth arcs.

We don’t just have arguments; we have conflict resolution styles. We don’t just express frustration; we process our unmet needs in a nonviolent communication framework.

And while all of this emotional sophistication has its merits, at some point, a question emerges: Are we making relationships harder than they need to be?

This is where emotional minimalism comes in—the radical idea that maybe, just maybe, love doesn’t have to be so complicated.

That some of the happiest, longest-lasting couples aren’t the ones who spend hours dissecting their every feeling, but the ones who simply enjoy each other’s company without overanalyzing it.

Let’s talk about how our culture’s obsession with emotional deep-diving is making love harder, why not constantly talking about your feelings can actually be a good thing, and how to practice emotional minimalism without becoming an emotionally unavailable robot.

If you’ve ever wandered into the world of modern relationship advice, you’ve likely encountered Esther Perel.

A brilliant Belgian psychotherapist, she’s the high priestess of erotic distance, the champion of mystery in long-term relationships, and the nuanced defender of the occasional infidelity.

Her TED Talks dazzle, her books sell, and her clients—well, they walk away feeling seen.

But not everyone is enchanted.

Among those raising a skeptical eyebrow are spiritually inclined couples. They may be Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

They’ve found themselves shaking their heads at the suggestion that passion thrives on the unknown or that a touch of betrayal might reinvigorate a marriage.

For spiritually-inclined couples, Perel’s philosophy is, at best, incomplete and, at worst, a siren song leading marriages onto the rocks.

Researchers have long been intrigued by the female orgasm, primarily because, unlike male orgasm, it doesn’t come with a clear-cut evolutionary reason.

Male orgasm is like an overeager mail carrier—package delivered, mission accomplished (Puts et al., 2012).

Female orgasm, on the other hand, is like a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, wearing lingerie.

This has led scientists to explore whether female orgasm is an adaptive function or simply nature’s little inside joke.

Listen up, lovebirds and gentle readers: Science has spoken, and it turns out that being a little too invested in your partner’s daily miseries might actually help keep your fledgling romance afloat.

Yes, you heard that right. Your tendency to spiral into existential dread when your partner’s barista gets their latte order wrong? That could be the glue holding your love life together—at least for now.

This revelation comes from a research team led by Emre Selçuk, published in the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology.

Their studies suggest that when people lose their emotional composure in response to their partner’s stress, it signals investment, care, and commitment.

In new relationships, this is like waving a giant flag that says, I really, really care about you—even your completely ridiculous micro-stresses! And weirdly enough, that seems to matter.

In the beginning, there was love.

Pure, incandescent love.

The kind of love that makes you say things like, "I don’t care about money, I just want to be with you."

The kind of love that lets you ignore red flags, like the fact that your partner thinks credit card points are a scam or that they insist on paying exact change in drive-thrus.

And then one day, love meets reality. And reality has a balance sheet.

Once upon a time, you were in love.

A new love. A glowing, radiant, teeth-whitened kind of love.

You went on dates. You dressed well. You smelled fantastic.

Your conversations were charming, effortless, and built on a mutual delusion that this polished, agreeable, magazine-ad version of you was real.

Fast forward a year.

You’re both in sweats.

One of you hasn’t showered.

The other is eating peanut butter out of the jar with their hands.

You no longer ask, “What are you thinking?” because the answer is, invariably, “Nothing.” This, dear reader, is the true test of love.

In the grand cosmic sitcom that is human love, few plot twists are as deliciously absurd as divorce regret and remarriage.

Imagine this: after braving the bureaucratic Mount Doom of divorce—dividing the assets, explaining to Aunt Mildred that no, he didn’t cheat, you just couldn’t stand the way he chewed—some couples, like prodigal lovers, come marching back to the altar for a second go.

Is it romance? Is it Stockholm Syndrome? Let’s dive into this.

Can your brain tell if your partner is being honest? It turns out, love isn’t just about candlelit dinners and sweet words—it’s also about synchronized brain waves.

A fascinating new neuroimaging study out of China found that romantic couples exhibit higher brain synchronization when interacting compared to strangers, and this enhanced neural connection correlates with greater honesty.

The study, published in Brain Sciences, suggests that love may literally shape our brains to be more in sync—building trust and reducing deception.

This research aligns with what many of us instinctively feel: when we truly connect with someone, honesty comes more naturally. But how exactly does this work on a neurological level? And could brain science help explain why trust is so essential in long-term relationships?

Let’s dive into the science of brain synchronization, deception, and what it means for the way we love.

When a marriage ends, the world is accustomed to thinking in terms of divorce—a clean (or not-so-clean) legal severance of two partners who, for whatever reason, can no longer function as a couple.

But what if, instead of merely ending, a marriage was declared to have never truly existed?

That is the power of the annulment—a rare and, in some traditions, almost mystical declaration that dissolves a marriage not because it failed, but because it was never valid in the first place.

The history of marriage annulment reveals an evolving understanding of love, legitimacy, and personal autonomy.

Unlike divorce, which assumes a union was real and then ended, annulment challenges the very existence of the marriage, often invoking legal, religious, or social justifications.

Over the centuries, the criteria for annulment have reflected changing cultural attitudes toward marriage itself—who should enter it, why they should stay, and under what conditions they might be released.

A new study published in Brain Sciences finds that women with heightened interoceptive awareness—the ability to tune into their internal bodily sensations—report more frequent and satisfying orgasms.

Yes, ladies, mindfulness isn't just for yoga; it turns out your ability to sense your own heartbeat or notice a stomach grumble might also be the secret sauce to better orgasms.

Let’s break it down: the study found that different aspects of interoception influence both how often women climax and how good those orgasms feel—whether solo or with a partner.

Women who were better at noticing their bodily sensations tended to orgasm more frequently, while those who could regulate their attention to internal signals found their solo sessions especially satisfying.

Ever wonder why some couples stay connected after having kids while others struggle to maintain intimacy?

Parenthood brings a whirlwind of changes—sleep deprivation, endless responsibilities, and an ever-growing to-do list. While the love for your children deepens, the time and energy for romance often shrink.

A recent study published in The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality explores how parenting stress interacts with attachment styles to shape sexual satisfaction in couples—and the findings might surprise you.