Unchecked Baggage is a brand new podcast all about relationship advice. The episodes are aimed at talking about emotional baggage, love, sex, and relationships. The hosts, Lena and Rob, believe that life is too short to be weighed down by unchecked baggage and seek to help listeners let go of past baggage to have better relationships with others. They have been married seven years, but have both brought some emotional baggage from past relationships. Listen as they share about this baggage and what has helped them overcome it. 

Today’s episode is all about the importance of having couple friends within a relationship. Rob discusses the excitement in seeing your spouse interact excitedly with others face to face. Observing how other couples interact can help you gauge your own relationship dynamics. He points out the three benefits of having overlapping couple friends: that it increases your attraction to each other, creates a support system and protects your relationship. 

Then, they discuss whether having single friends leads to distrust. In Lena’s experience, most of her single friends of the opposite sex have been in her life before her relationship. It’s important to set boundaries and have a clear understanding of what your spouse is comfortable with. Most importantly, you must have respect for your partner so they feel at ease and can easily voice their feelings on the subject. It is the responsibility as the person with the single friend of the opposite sex to respect your partner’s comfort level and to speak positively about your partner with others. 

With all of this being said, they move on to address the question: How can you make couple friends? According to Lena’s research, there are three different types of couples. Seekers are people who really want to meet other couples. Keepers are happy with the friends they have, but are still sometimes open to meeting new people. Finally, nesters are people who are happy with a small circle and uninterested in making new friends. A few places to find friends are at work, in facebook and community groups, on apps and through your kid’s schools. Usually, it’s better to choose engaging activities to do with new friends rather than something as intimate as dinner. 

Finally, they point out a few things to look out for when making new friends. It’s perfectly normal not to get along with everyone you meet, and gauging how you feel after spending time with others is a good way to determine if the friendship is beneficial to your relationship. Finding friends who are well suited for your relationship and lifestyle takes work, but is worth it. 

Links:

Read more information about how to handle relationship baggage in the articles below: 

• https://www.fatherly.com/love-money/the-profound-importance-of-having-couples-friends/