Why are smart, self-aware women still getting tangled with emotionally unavailable men? In this episode, Melissa Roberts stands in the lip-gloss aisle at Duane Reade having a full-blown "aha" moment with AI (Viv) — and it leads to one of the most powerful breakdowns of modern dating culture you'll ever hear.

Melissa traces the roots of today's dating chaos all the way back to the 1950s "Happy Housewife" era, through Cosmo magazine's advice columns, talk-show therapy culture, and the '90s mega-seller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. She reveals how generations of women were conditioned to regulate men's emotions and call it love — and how that conditioning still drives today's dating apps, "feminine energy" coaching, and confusion about what real intimacy looks like.

You'll learn:

• Why the Mars / Venus movement quietly taught women to perform emotional caretaking.

• How fake credentials and pop psychology rewired our expectations of men.

• Why attention isn't intimacy — and how Gumball Love explains the cycle that keeps you hooked.

• The first step to deprogramming the "good girl who manages him" instinct.

This isn't about bashing men — it's about finally seeing the system that made everyone so stuck. By the end, you'll understand why you're not crazy, not too much, and not broken you're just waking up. Is he a Gumball Guy? Take the quiz! www.Gumballlove.com: Book a one time coaching call here:

Instagram: @melissajaneroberts