I have had difficult relationships, which have affected how I feel about sex. I understand my current partner’s concerns, but am not sure anything will improve the situationMy partner and I are in our late 30s and met a few months before the pandemic. …
the friends you make online
These online relationships are often just as meaningful and rich and strange as my “real-life” friendships, but they’re more difficult to define. Maybe we’re still a little embarrassed? Or maybe we just need to stop waiting for definitions and do the w…
Blind date: ‘When I asked if we could meet at a different restaurant, he joked that I was a diva’
Will, 25, medical student, meets Kate, 26, PhD studentWill on KateWhat were you hoping for?A fun evening with someone who didn’t take themselves too seriously and a good story to share with my friends. Continue reading…
Emotional infidelity: the devastating, destructive love affairs that involve no sex at all
An affair doesn’t have to be physical to be intense – or to ruin a relationship. Guardian readers open up about bonding, betrayal and what happened nextChloe had encouraged her husband to accept the new job. “I told him: ‘Life is too short to be unhapp…
I enjoy oral sex – but penetration scares me. Am I letting my partner down?
I am really confused and embarrassed about not being able to perform, and am worried there is something wrong with meI am a 22-year-old woman and a virgin. I’m in a relationship and we have had oral sex, but we have tried and failed to have intercourse…
The love spy: how I became a relationship detective
As a teen, Daniella Isaacs sneaked a peek at her mother’s private journal – and was surprised at what she read. The discovery sent her on a life-long journey questioning the meaning of trust, desire and, ultimately, loveI discovered my mum’s diary in h…
I’m dying. Will it help my beloved husband to cope if I leave him notes?
Thank you for a really beautiful email, writes Philippa Perry. I will store your lesson away for myselfThe question I need your help. Specifically, a woman therapist’s help, in fact. Even though I’ve got a perfectly good and helpful therapist, who’s he…
Blind date: ‘Did we kiss? The better question is how we kissed’
Michael, 26, PhD student, meets Dom, 26, charity press assistantWhat were you hoping for?A face out of Caravaggio’s sketchbooks? A body cut from the Parthenon friezes? Hopes should outpace expectations. Continue reading…
My partner ghosted me after I miscarried our child. What did I do wrong?
Where did you learn it was up to you to make things better? Now focus on healing yourselfI had a lockdown romance with someone I met through online dating. He was the first man I’d dated after coming out of an abusive relationship, and it was refreshin…
I am concerned about my overattachment to men I hardly know. Can I date safely? | Leading questions
The pain of a budding romance ending is not just about what it was, but what it could have been, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-SmithI divorced from my husband over a year ago (we had been living separately for a couple of years before that). H…