Since my wife died, I've reconnected with my sexuality. I've realised that my fantasies are actually available to me, not just something I live out through porn. And when I met Sophie, I discovered there's been a sexual revolution going on and I'd been missing out. In the early days, Sophie would wake me up in the middle of the night to have sex and we'd whisper fantasies to each other.
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kaley Cuoco, 40; Elisha Cuthbert, 43; Ben Stiller, 60; Billy Idol, 70. Happy Birthday: Take the time to make things right. Review domestic issues, deal with relationships that require time and effort, and get your life in order. Listen, discuss and negotiate until you find common ground or a solution that ensures happiness prevails. Honesty and compromise will help you determine where you see yourself heading and how best to reach your destination.
The moon enters bold and fiery Aries during the wee hours of the morning, promising an energized and fast-paced day ahead. Your emotional impulses may get the best of you, but there surely won't be a dull moment. Sweet and easy-flowing lunar connections with transformative Pluto and the sparkling sun cast an empowering glow over everything you put your mind to today, too, bringing the perfect blend of intensity and confidence.
Ask any person who has been pregnant, and they'll tell you the cravings are a doozy. Sometimes the cravings make sense. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes you feel like you need it RIGHT NOW. Sometimes the urge goes away just as quickly as it came on. And the best thing any good partner can do is to just go with it.
This December calls for patience and certainty. Clarity strikes when the full moon lands in inquisitive Gemini on Dec. 4. Get all your questions out in the open, even those centered around sensitive subjects. The influx of information may feel overwhelming at first - especially once Neptune retrograde ends in Pisces on Dec. 10. But in the long run, clearing confusion is better than settling for ambiguity or misunderstandings.
We have all heard that beauty is only skin deep, yet visual appeal continues to be a big part of physical attraction, at least initially. Other qualities are very important when sparking romance beyond superficial appeal, such as kindness, honesty, compassion, compatibility, and of course the way a prospective partner makes us feel about ourselves. Many daters are faced with a mix of positive traits to analyze, both physical and emotional.
Why pressure shuts desire down Sex research consistently shows that desire does not thrive under expectation. In fact, pressure activates the very system designed to suppress sexual response. The Dual Control Model of Sexual Response (Bancroft & Janssen, 2007) explains that our sexual experience is controlled by two competing systems: one that activates arousal, and one that inhibits it. Sex therapist and researcher Emily Nagoski describes these simply as our "accelerators" and our "brakes".
It was 1991, I was in my early 40s, living in the south of England and trapped in a marriage that had long since curdled into something quietly suffocating. My husband had become controlling, first with money, then with almost everything else: what I wore, who I saw, what I said. It crept up so slowly that I didn't quite realise what was happening.
Guts typically refer to "innards," and truth and compassion live at the core of an ever-deepening relationship. Referring to someone as having "guts" typically denotes some measure of bravery. That's also true when a couple commits to truth-telling accompanied by compassion. Revealing what lives at our core takes courage, and expressing it without being offensive demands practice. It is only too easy for a shaming smirk or an amplified tone to hurt the listener.
"This probably sounds insane," my young client, married for three years, said recently. "I'm embarrassed to say it, but here it is: I love my husband, but sometimes I can't stand him!" Actually, that's something therapists hear a lot. And it isn't a sign of insanity. It's quite possible to feel love and dislike simultaneously. Sometimes the feelings of dislike evolve over serious problems that may not be changeable: emotional, verbal, or physical abuse, or concepts of morality forever at odds.
I got married at an early age, but the marital bliss was short-lived as my wife died a few years later. That was 20 years ago, and I have since built a new, happy life for myself. In this new life, I have never had any desire to embark on another long-term relationship, let alone remarry. I enjoy being on my own, although I consider myself to be quite sociable. I have a group of good friends, who provide excellent company whenever I want it.
My wife was showing photos and videos of our trip overseas at a family gathering. Our parents were there, her nonna, our siblings, nieces and nephews, and our two kids. She plugged the laptop directly into the TV and was clicking through a folder I hadn't sorted yet. Up popped an extremely graphic video we had recorded of ourselves. Extremely loud. In front of the whole family.
Reaching a point where you have saved far more than you ever imagined should feel like a triumph. Surpassing your own financial goals is something most investors only dream about. But life is never just about the numbers. For one Reddit user in r/fatFIRE, the moment that should have marked early victory instead came with a painful twist. After building enough wealth to retire in their 30s, they were hit with shocking news.
My mom, who is now in her 70s, will leave her car running, unlocked, sitting on the street when she stops by someone's house. She spent 45 minutes at my house one day, and when I walked her out, her car had been running, unlocked the whole time. I said, 'You know, anyone could just jump in and drive off with it, right?' Her response was, 'It hasn't happened yet. I'll be fine.'
I think the key to a happy marriage during the holiday season is being able to acknowledge privately, together, all the quirks of each other's families with no judgment,
You shouldn't have to convince your husband to follow through on your dream vacation. He should have consulted you before inviting your son and telling him he will be included in everything. You wrote that you scrimped and saved for years to afford this vacation. How does he intend to pay for all those extra expenses for a third person?
Casual sex isn't inherently harmful but for some people, overlooking personal needs or emotional boundaries can take an emotional toll. Despite the promise of freedom and easy intimacy, hookups don't always feel empowering and for some women, they can lead to unexpected feelings of depletion. DW spoke to several women from North America, Europe and parts of Asia who spoke of hookups that gave feelings of short-term confidence but also made deeper intimacy harder.
Heather, a 40-year-old woman from the US, describes this tension as leaving her feeling "empty, sad, and temporarily empowered, but always craving more." When engaging in casual sex, she regularly tried to turn off her emotions, which felt like "cutting off a part" of herself. Her description of the negative side of hookup culture is consistent with a little-researched condition called postcoital dysphoria (PCD), where people report negative emotions like tearfulness, sadness, or irritability after sex.
I use a simple framework I call the 5 R'srespect, relate, reframe, revise, and repeat, that I also describe in my book, Misguided. These aren't about winning a debate; they're about lowering defensiveness and creating space for mutual understanding. You also don't need to engage every time. Choose your moments, and try to know the other person's goal before diving in, whether that is validation, curiosity, certainty, or simply keeping the peace.
I don't care either way about the order we do things, but in this economy, rejecting a 20% down payment just to prove a point seems irresponsible. substantial down payment they'd always promised to help me buy my first house with. I am not surprised because they have always been clear on their beliefs. we take the next step and move in together. My parents, who are old-fashioned and religious, don't think couples should live together before marriage.
Though sung in her typical tongue-in-cheek style, Sabrina Carpenter's new hit song 'Manchild' is revealing-and not in the way you might think. At one point, she insists that she isn't choosing these emotionally inept men-they choose her. While the song is funny and upbeat, there's something else there that's being articulated. The need for control, order, and a sense of helplessness when you find yourself with the same type of partner over and over again is something many of us can relate to.
Massey: Alcohol and forced family fun play a role, but underneath it all is our biology. Human beings are one of those species that can't survive alone-we're hardwired for connection because our survival depends on belonging to a tribe. When someone attacks our beliefs, the automatic part of our brain reacts as if we're in danger. It doesn't know the difference between a tiger in the wild and a relative on a rant.
In a recent study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, researchers tracked over 3,000 people to understand why they seek love. They found that the love that thrives aligns with intrinsic motivation and identified regulation - genuine, internalized reasons for pursuing a relationship. Individuals with autonomous motivation were more likely to develop and maintain long-term romantic relationships. It was less a matter of obligation and more one of genuine concern for their partner's happiness.
Some women can't orgasm at all, or only with a very specific and sustained effort. Others lose interest or are sore after one or two. Still more, as you describe your current partner, can have several or even dozens of orgasms. Some of those women find that each successive orgasm is more intense than the last-having several orgasms is part of reaching satisfaction, and may be part of how they reach "quality."
Let's start with an uncomfortable truth: Christian marriages fail at nearly the same rate as secular ones. 42% of Christian marriages end in divorce. 42%. So much for "biblical marriage" being the answer. The church sold you a fairy tale. Wait until marriage, pray together, submit (if you're the wife), and everything will work out. Except it doesn't. Nobody prepared you for year three when you're sleeping in separate rooms.
I told my goddaughter I would contribute $500 to the wedding dress. She picked out a dress without consulting me that cost nearly 10 times that much and sent me a picture of the receipts. She said she had heard that I would pay for all of the dress. Her mother got involved and it ended up a huge mess.
