Sex + Love

My ex-boyfriend was a groomsman at my wedding. Not just any ex-boyfriend, either –– the last one before I met my husband-to-be. My last fling was in the audience, too, and I didn't start to cry until I walked down the aisle and saw the tears standing in his eyes. He's not a crier, either.

We met in what used to be considered a non-traditional manner: a dating website. This website is known for bringing together people who are looking for a serious commitment rather than the hookup apps our peers use. We both met our exes there, so we knew it would work, and we both hoped we would meet our spouses.

There isn’t a list of things that these couples do differently. There’s one difficult thing they choose to accept.

Shoulding on our partners will not fill our needs. So these statements won’t help: “You should come home when you say you will!” “You should stop spending all our money!” “You should pay attention to what I say!” “You should treat me better!”

Another awesome idea, whether the relationship is new or established, is to look at a sexual inventory checklist (like this one). The list goes through different sexual situations that are important to discuss with a partner – from body boundaries to birth control and safer sex options to what you’ve done, what you’d like to try, and what’s a big “no” for you. It’s a great, less-awkward avenue to talking about sex in a big way and to understand one another’s needs more intimately.

I was 5 years old when I last saw my biological mother. She was 20, recently had my baby brother and was fighting for custody of me. A series of unfortunate events, if you will, lead to her losing custody of me and relinquishing all rights over to my grandparents.

Is your relationship jeopardized by double standards? Big or small, they can threaten the health of a relationship. By learning to recognize the signs, the risk can be reduced. Then you can take action to eliminate them.

Why should prostitution be illegal? And, more specifically why should male prostitution be illegal?