This week, we’re unpacking a question that stopped us in our tracks after reading the viral Vogue article: is having a boyfriend… embarrassing now? While we may be late to the game on this one, the conversation is still as relevant as ever.

Somehow, we’ve landed in a cultural moment where independence is celebrated, detachment is cool, and wanting a relationship can feel a little… cringe? From situationships to soft-launching partners (or never launching them at all), dating in your 30s feels very different than it did even a few years ago.

We get into it all — starting with the very real, very humbling moments that come with modern dating (including Nicole being left on a curb waiting for an Uber that never included her). Meagan shares her snowstorm-induced breaking point, living on the eighth floor, feeling stuck, overstimulated, and over it — which somehow feels like the perfect metaphor for dating right now.

From there, we zoom out and talk about what’s actually happening beneath the surface:

• Why being “chill” and unattached became the gold standard

• The pressure women feel to prove they don’t need anyone

• How independence got confused with emotional distance

• And why wanting partnership doesn’t make you weak, embarrassing, or behind

We also talk about the quiet contradiction so many of us live in: building full, beautiful, independent lives — while still wanting love, intimacy, and someone to come home to. Both can exist. Neither cancels the other out.

If you’ve ever felt weird admitting you want a relationship… or judged for staying single… or confused about what you’re supposed to want at this stage of life — this one’s for you.