Hopeful Aromantic

This week we’re breaking down romantic tropes and myths vs. true intimacy using scenes from THE DRAMA (2026). Warning: there are light character development spoilers within, but the main plot twist will not be revealed, however feel free to bookmark this one and come back to it if you want to go into the movie totally blind.

In this episode, we explore:

• Romance as performance
• Why intimacy can’t be rushed
• How intensity gets mistaken for intimacy
• Building trust in relationships
• Key parts of a strong relationship foundation
• Homework at 41:55 - Shadow work

Resources mentioned:

• THE DRAMA, Kristoffer Borgli (2026)
• I Stumbled Across My Boyfriend's ChatGPT and It Ended Our Relationship, Lindsey Hall
• The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity, Esther Perel

More movies:

• CERTIFIED COPY, Abbas Kiarostami (2010)
• SICK OF MYSELF, Kristoffer Borgli (2022)
• COMRADES, ALMOST A LOVE STORY, Peter Chan Ho-Sun (1996)
• IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, Wong Kar Wai (2000)
• PAST LIVES, Celine Song (2023)
• BEFORE SUNSET, Richard Linklater (2004)
• SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, Ingmar Bergman (1974)
• FORCE MAJEURE, Ruben Östlund (2014)
• THE ONE I LOVE, Charlie McDowell (2014)

Shadow Work:

• Meeting the Shadow, Connie Zweig, Jeremiah Abrams
• The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Debbie Ford
• Existential Kink, Carolyn Elliott

Send in your relationship-related question to be potentially featured on a future episode! You can send in a short ~1 minute voicenote or short written question to [email protected], with the subject line: Podcast question.

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

Writer Carina Hsieh coined the term situationship in Cosmopolitan back in the 2010’s as “a hookup with emotional benefits”. It’s 2026 and it seems like since then, people have only grown more uncertain, more fearful, yet crave that emotional closeness more than ever. How did we get here, but more importantly, how do we move forward?

In this episode, we explore:

• Romantic propaganda
• The myth of not getting your feelings involved
• The anxiety that comes with freedom
• Our low trust society and antisocial behavior
• Unsuccessfully managing doubt and the search for certainty
• The role of meaning making
• Homework at 36:53 - Avoidance Audit

Resources mentioned:

• NEXT (2007)
• What Love Is, Carrie Jenkins
• WALL STREET (1987)
• Is the 'Situationship' Ruining Modern Romance?, Carina Hsieh
• You don’t have to gamble for gambling to ruin your life, Hannah Horvath
• Escape from Freedom, Erich Fromm
• We Do This ‘Til We Free Us, Mariame Kaba

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

When it comes to dating, all you have to do is find that one person, The One, and then all will be well. Right? What if I told you that was the easiest part? If all you do is work on becoming the version of you who can be in that relationship, it will all flow. This week we will get into the energetics and mechanics of finding someone who matches your freq.

In this episode, we explore:

• Quantum leaps as unsustainable
• Becoming an energetic match to your goals
• Why maintaining results requires an inner transformation
• What is means when you lose opportunities
• Expanding belief
• Getting vs. maintaining
• Creating momentum through tiny changes
• Letting relationships be easy
• Homework at 36:12

Resources mentioned:

• Feelings Wheel
• Map of Consciousness

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

Social skills are an art and not a science. While dating, friendship, and relationship building often feel confusing and overwhelming, the greatest tool we can rely on is our intuition. This week we unpack limiting ways of seeing relationships so we can turn inwards instead.

In this episode, we explore:

• Questioning common relationship advice
• The limitations of reducing people to types
• How white supremacy culture influences and limits relationship building
• How fear of the unknown motivates a dependency on external authority
• How we benefit from questioning everything
• The importance of cultivating intuition for connecting
• How to vet people through feeling into it
• Homework at 46:26

Resources/Book mentioned:

• Dismantling Racism
• White Supremacy Culture
• Codependent No More, Melody Beattie

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

***My apologies! The file I uploaded got a little deep fried and I didn't have time to re-record it. Sorry for the audio quality this week.

It’s my birthday week! I’m looking back on my last year of evolution and learning to finally chill out and let go of control. We dive into how I implement taoism and anticapitalism into personal growth and relationship building.

In this episode, we explore:

• The power of non-action
• Changing our relationship to time
• Discerning intuition vs. anxiety
• The futility of control
• Creating space for receiving and integration
• Embodying identity

Book mentioned:

• How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell
• 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman
• Rest is Resistance: Free Yourself from Grind Culture and Reclaim Your Life, Tricia Hersey

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

What purpose and function does a crush serve if we remove it from dominant narratives of romance, attraction, and pursuit? How can we learn more about ourselves from crushing? And how can aromantic and asexual frameworks expand what it means to have a crush?

In this episode, we explore:

• The creative process
• Crushes as a form of play
• Redefining crushes outside of dominant norms
• Imagination as a tool for liberation
• Crushes as reflections of self-discovery

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

Straight forward, no-nonsense, no-bullshit dating advice.

In this episode, we explore:

• How overthinking in dating prevents us from presence
• How to filter out bad dating advice
• The importance of knowing yourself
• Understanding your values, wants, needs, and patterns
• The power of saying no
• How to not settle: being strict and brave
• Relationship energy leaks
• How committing to yourself sustains momentum

Resources:

• Values List
• Values exercise
• Needs List
• Feelings wheel

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

Happily ever after is just a myth and fantasy. Our culture tells us that marriage will bring us lifelong happiness, fulfillment, and most of all, a deep sense of security… but does it really? The stories we’re sold about love, relationships, and romance teach us to put our sense of security outside of ourselves, when in reality it’s something that exists within.

In this episode, we explore:

• Romance myths upholding marriage as relationship security
• Illusions of security in modern society
• Parallels between money and love
• The risks of outsourcing your sense of safety
• Cultivating an inherent sense of self-worth
• Wanting without needing
• Practical advice for relationship clarity

Books/Articles mentioned:

• Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage, Stephanie Coontz
• A History of Marriage, Elizabeth Abbott
• The Sociology of Begging Someone to Marry You, Telling the Bees
• What Love Is: And What it Could Be, Dr. Carrie Jenkins

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

So you want to overhaul your life? Look no further. We only want things because it’s possible to have them, otherwise we wouldn’t have the desire. Consider this your high level how-to guide on how to totally transform your reality.

In this episode, we explore how to:

• Make a decision and commit to it
• Expand your sense of possibility
• Change your beliefs
• Notice your patterns and break them
• Take aligned action and experiment
• Let go and surrender

Movies mentioned:

• Groundhog Day (1993), Harold Ramis
• Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/

Ghosting: we’ve all experienced it, and most of us have done it to others. In today’s hyper-connected world, the expectation to always be available and transparent over communication has complicated what it means to end things. How do we deal with silence? When might we be over-communicating? And how do we handle uncertainty with compassion?

In this episode, we explore:

• Relationship endings
• "Communication" as a broad, catch-all, phrase that isn’t specific enough
• Discerning intent and action
• Navigating uncertainty in dating
• Modern communication anxiety
• The blame game and victim mentality
• The importance of tolerating uncertainty

Books/Resources mentioned:

• Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, Lundy Bancroft
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
• Path to Action from Crucial Conversations
• Feelings Wheel

Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call ⁠here⁠.

Let’s connect! @hopefularomantic on ig <3

https://victoriayeung.coach/