What do you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self if you had the chance? What wisdom would you impart if you could go back in time? Today, for our last episode of season three, we're talking about all the things we would tell our 20-year-old selves about love. From romantic love to friendship to ourselves, we wrap up a season all about love and relationships and sex and mistakes by sharing some lessons of our own. Thank you so much for your support throughout season three of Love etc. -...

How often do you hear honest stories about abortion in the mainstream media? How often do people talk openly about abortions they've had? Today, we're talking about abortions. Terminating a pregnancy is, still, a lasting taboo. And yet, despite the hushed tones and whispers that we use to discuss it with, between one in three and one in four Australian women have aborted a pregnancy. In this episode, we speak to one such woman - Pip - who is sharing her story in the hopes that it makes you...

Is your friend in a kind-of-s****y relationship and you don't know what to do about it? Or, have you told a friend before that their relationship isn't what they deserve? Today, we're talking about your friend's crappy relationship. You know, the kind that may not be completely toxic, but a kind that makes them unhappy, that makes you feel like they're settling, that makes you wonder if you should ever say something to them about it. After all, is it your place to tell someone their...

What the hell do you do if your partner's parents are - well - kind of the worst? How do you progress with your relationship and the person you love if their family feels like something out of a bad movie? Today, we're talking about monster in-laws. Yep, the kind you hear about in bad movies and TV shows: in-laws that don't like you and let you know about it every chance they get. To do that, we're hearing the stories of two different women - women who probably deserve to be in some sort of...

Do you believe the age-old idea that before you fall in love with anyone else, you first must love yourself? And do you believe that you need to actually love your body, rather than just accept it? Today, we're talking about a different kind of love... body love. It was Caroline Caldwel who once said: "In a society that profits off your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act." Today, we speak to three women - Jess, April, and Olivia - who have three very different experiences with...

Have you ever had a friendship turn not just sour... but toxic? Or a friend gradually become something of an enemy - someone you dread seeing, but feel indebted to simultaneously? Today, we're talking about toxic friends. How do you spot one? And once you know they're toxic, how the hell do you... well... break up with them? If high school didn't force you to prune the friendship weeds from your life, your twenties are bound to. Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram,...

How do you recover from an experience that completely changes your perspective on the world? How do you pick yourself up and heal when someone has tried to steal your agency, your freedom and your sense of self too? Today, we're talking about reclaiming your power after sexual assault. It's a heavy one, but a story that is so important to tell. We know that almost 2 million Australian adults have experienced at least one sexual assault since the age of 15. Today, we're talking to two women...

Have you ever been ghosted? Have you ever wondered why the heartbreak feels so much worse when you never have any closure? Or - plot twist - have you DONE the ghosting? Today, we're talking about ghosting. Yep, the experience of spending all your time, energy and hey - maybe love - with someone only for them to... out of nowhere... completely disappear from your life. Did they die? You ask yourself. Maybe their phone broke? Maybe they just haven't seen my messages? Or maybe, you begin to...

Have you fallen into the dangerous trap of assuming those that are bisexual are actually just gay? Have you blindly accepted the stereotype that perhaps it's just a phase? And have you spent much time considering how bi-erasure damages our discourse around sexuality? Today, we're talking about bisexuality. To do that, we're talking to two people - Jane and Isaac, who both explained to us their confusing path to fully understand and appreciate their own sexuality. Keep up to date with...

We've all whispered about the engaged couples who split just before their wedding. What happened? How did everything go so wrong, so quickly? And what's it like to inform your loved ones that the wedding you spent months planning together is now cancelled? If you're anything like us, you know of someone who had to call off their wedding. You probably heard about it on the grapevine - maybe you trawled through the couple's respective Instagram profiles, trying to figure out what happened....

Do you believe the saying "once a cheater, always a cheater"? If someone has been unfaithful before, does that mean they're destined to do it again and again? Or are humans more complicated - more capable of change - than that? Today, we're talking about taking back a cheater. How do you move past the fury? How do you ever trust them again? And how do you process the shame that society tells you you should feel? For the answers to those sticky questions, we're turning to two women who have...

Most of us know the jagged contours of heartbreak. How they can slice your sense of self and see you crying into the nook of your couch for weeks. But what happens when that heartbreak is coupled with a nightmarish breakup - one so cruel and utterly bizarre that you question just about everything? Today, we're talking about nightmare breakups. To do that, we'll be hearing from three women who are still reeling from the fallout of theirs, even years down the line. Are there neat bows or easy...

This is a bizarre time for the world. COVID-19 has been incredibly detrimental to the health of people right across the world, and has had massive impacts on the economy and job stability, too. But what about love? Relationships? Sex? What has this pandemic done to the way to relate to each other? That's precisely what we're exploring today. In this final episode of Love Etc season two, we share stories from YOU guys - and they're far more uplifting than we first imagined. Then, we hear...

Have you always wondered what motivates someone to be the other woman? Why they knowingly choose to be with someone who has a partner? Today on the show we are talking to a woman who has been the other woman. It can be easy to demonise a person for knowingly dating someone who is in a relationship - after all, doesn't it just come down to values? we think - but of course, the world isn't as simple as that. So, today we're talking to a woman called Michelle (yes, a different Michelle) who...

Hello lovely people, just a quick note to say there won't be an episode of Love Etc. today due to some unforeseen circumstances. As Mich said in her little note, if you are looking for something to listen to and haven't been through our back catalogue yet, we have two episodes you might enjoy. The first is called Platonic Love, which was our ode to friendship, and the second is called Three Women, Three Love Stories which details three very different tales of falling in love. We will be...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to work in the sex industry? Have you ever wondered how that work would read when it was eventually turned into a memoir? Today, we're interviewing the powerhouse that is Rita Therese. Here's the thing about Rita - she's widely renowned for being one of the most in-demand sex workers in Australia, yes, but she's also regarded as one of the country's rising artistic talents. Because as Rita's profile under her alias Gia James has grown, so too has has her...

Content note: this episode deals with issues around emotional abuse and may be triggering for some listeners. Today, we're telling a story of emotional and psychological abuse. In the midst of a global pandemic where so many of us are self-isolating at home with our partners, it's more important than ever we recognise what an unhealthy, abusive relationship looks like. Too, it's important that we can recognise the signs from afar, to look out for our friends and the people we love to make...

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Is there a possibility that your attraction to other people doesn't fit into a neat box? Or, maybe - just maybe - have you walked away from a great love in search of who you really are, and what you really want? Today, we're talking to one woman about the experience of discovering her sexuality in the midst of a committed relationship to a man. Here's Livv. A woman who fell madly in love with a man named Jason, only to learn that deep down she'd...

Are you feeling a little lonely? Are you yearning for connection in a period where we've been instructed to stay inside? Today, we're talking about loneliness and connection at a time we are all physically further from each other than ever. You can read How Loneliness from Coronavirus Isolation Takes Its Own Toll by Robin Wright for The New Yorker here. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social...

Have you ever been in a secret relationship? Have you ever felt like if you told the world who you were dating they would instantly judge you? Or, have you always been intrigued by love that seems so much more dramatic than your own? Today, we're talking about forbidden love. To do that, we're bringing you three stories from three very different women who all have remarkable tales of keeping their relationship a secret. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram...

Have you ever been tempted to become a sugar baby? Does the prospect of being paid - literally paid - by an older, wealthier partner sound appealing to you? Today, we speak to a woman who did exactly that. Mia spent two years with a married man and gave her bank account a healthy boost after every dinner and fancy hotel stay. So, would she recommend being a sugar baby to other women? We guess you'll have to listen and find out. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram...

Are you one of the four million Australians who has, or has had, an STI? Do you have an STI that is with you for life? And does that fact make you feel isolated and lonely in the dating game? Today, we're talking about dating with an STI. To do that, we're going to hear from Bethany, a woman in her twenties who is living with one, and will be for the rest of her life. Don't forget to head to @bumble_australia to get your hands on some free Jonny Condoms. Want to follow Michelle and Zara?...

Do you worry that you're not with the right person? Does your mind wander into thoughts that maybe, just maybe, the grass is greener on the other side? There's a chance you might be falling victim to FOBO. Today, we're talking about Fear of Better Options. But what does that actually mean in the context of love and relationships? You're about it find out. Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald. Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social...