Welcome back to season 6 of Tales of Taboo. I’ve missed you. 

Affairs are by no means good or fair, but they rarely have malicious intent. More often, they’re about quelling the ways adult life can be lonely and disappointing. This week’s lustful anonymous confessors began their affairs in Paris nightclubs, Las Vegas strip clubs, and European hideaways; on Seeking Arrangements and Ashley Madison; at work, via email, and though the phone. They fell for their clients, coworkers, bosses - even doctors! While the physical circumstances vary greatly, our storytellers all admit to strikingly similar emotional motivations: trauma, abuse, sexual rejection, unhappy marriages, insecurity, the loss of love. And the words they use to describe the way their paramours made them feel are the same, too: ‘sexy’, ‘pretty’, ‘desired’, ‘chosen’, ‘adventurous’, ‘appreciated’, ‘valuable’, ‘validated’, ‘liked’, ‘loved’.

I mean, how many times do we get presented with an all-encompassing romantic attraction that makes us really feel something? That isn’t circumstantial, or a void filler, or in pursuit of domestic stability? Where it’s just this inexplicable, chemical heat? 

I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just saying it’s complicated.

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Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Share your own confession - or love letters and hate mail - at [email protected]. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Chris Stathopolous and WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating and review - it's immensely helpful for expanding our network of anonymous confessors around the world. Thank you!