Learning 2 Love Podcast

We’ve got a surprise Learning 2 Love episode out now! On this episode, we feature 5 of the young ladies from The 7th University (7U), which is a community educational consultant group in the Chicagoland area. 7U focuses on mentoring, youth development, student support services and civic education. Diara Janelle and Dee Jeff chop it up with the young ladies from 7U and get their perspective on love, dating, relationships and so much more! Some of the things we talk about include:

>>Focusing on things other than boys
>>Boys only being focused on *one thing*
>>Knowing when you’re ready to take that next step with someone
>>Lack of trust and respect
>>The importance of home environment and upbringing
>>Age limits and dating
>>Colorism and race
>>What “love” means
>>Cheating and the normalization of it
>>Not giving in to peer pressure or pressure from boys to do things you don’t want to do

We want to give a special shoutout to Mr. Peters from The 7th University for partnering with us, as well as the young ladies who were brave enough to participate on the podcast!

For more information on The 7th University, visit https://the7university.com/

We appreciate y’all for hanging in there with us this far. We’ve enjoyed every part of Season 2 and we hope y’all have too. We can’t wait for Season 3! In this last episode of the season, we recapped some of our previous episodes, and we also touched on a lot of great topics like:

-Open marriages and relationships
-Living and sleeping in different households as a couple
-Trust and insecurities
-How do you hold someone’s interest?
-Different forms of communication (texts, FaceTime, or talking on the phone)
-How attraction dictates your level of effort in a relationship
-Men being treated like women in dating

The first episode of 2022 is here! But we’re sad that it’s the second to last episode of Season 2 :( We took a break for the holidays last week, but this week we got right back to it. We decided to tackle one of the biggest moves you can make in a relationship: moving in together. Listen as we talk through:

-How to approach the “we should move in” conversation
-At what point in your relationship should you have that conversation?
-How long should you be with someone before you move in together?
-The initial discomfort of moving in together
-Having separate spaces…but really, having the trust to have separate spaces
-Sleeping separately after moving in
-How should bills be split? 50/50, 80/20, etc.
-Whether or not you need to know how much money your partner makes

We have another special guest! This time y’all get to hear from Cory Glass as he talks about marriage from the man’s point-of-view. Cory is also a newlywed with a unique situation. Him and his wife have been married almost 8 months, but they’ve been together for 9 years. Check out this episode to hear Cory’s thoughts on:

-The importance of being friends with your significant other
-Having his spouse meet his family for the first time
-How and when he knew his wife was “the one”
-When they both became ready for marriage
-How living together aka “playing house” came into play with their relationship
-The benefits of being married
-Commitment and titles
-Gender roles
-What made him propose
-The importance of communication and expressing yourself
-Working together as a team
-Marriage counseling
***Bonus - Cory drops the secret of solving the “what should we eat” dilemma

We’re excited to announce our very first special guest, Britney Sampson! Britney is a fitness guru and accomplished trainer, and also a newlywed. Y’all get a chance to stop listening to us single folks talk about love and relationships for a change :) Britney and her husband have a very unique story that kept us on the edge of our seat as she walked us through it. You’ll hear how mindblown we were the whole time. Tune in and listen to more about Britney’s journey, and also her viewpoints on:

-Navigating a long distance relationship
-Intentionality
-Dating in the pandemic
-Dating while living together and/or being married
-Trusting your gut
-Sticking to the grounding aspects of a relationship/marriage
-Dating for marriage
-Transitioning from being single to being marriage minded
-Tying up loose ends
-Couples counseling and therapy
-Meeting family for the first time
-The moment she knew her husband was “the one”
-Splitting roles and responsibilities

To get in touch with Britney, hit her up at @missbrit23 on Instagram

Cheating always seems to be a hot topic for discussion when it comes to relationships, so of course your favorite podcasters had to talk about it. Whether you’ve been a cheater, you’ve been cheated on, or you just want some general perspectives, this episode is for you. We touch on:

-Communication with exes and how that can lead to cheating
-Are you insecure if you have a problem with your partner talking to their ex?
-Amicably parting ways. Every situation doesn’t have to end in a disaster
-Are there signs that let you know your relationship is coming to an end?
-Arguing all the time is not okay
-People being truly delirious in relationships
-Who physically and emotionally cheats more? Men or women?
-Would you forgive your partner for cheating?
-Emotional cheating is a thing
-Deal breakers and red flags

In last week’s episode, we started talking about holiday dating and what that looks like, in addition to a few other topics. This week, we dive back into the holiday dating conversation and we dig a little deeper, covering topics like:

-Gift giving. What’s too big and what’s too small for a gift?
-Do you have to match your partner’s gift?
-Should your gifts represent how much money you make?
-Exes coming back around during the holiday season
-Communication with exes in general
-How the pandemic changed our interactions with people and how this holiday season will be different because of it
-Engagement announcements. Y’all know this is people’s time to shine
-Relationships and social media. Do people share too much?

We’re back like we never left! We’re so excited to announce that Season 2 of the Learning 2 Love podcast is in full effect. We sincerely thank y’all for all the love and support from Season 1. In the first episode of the new season, we recap on some of the key topics from Season 1 and give y’all a preview of what to expect in the new season. Since we’re kicking this season off in time for the holidays, in this first episode we talk about:

-Holiday dating
-Bringing people around your family for the first time. Should you do it around the holidays? At what stage in dating do you do this?
-PDA in front of your family and in private
-What do you consider PDA?
-How relationships and situationships often start out hot and then fizzle out
-Love languages. Knowing what yours are and how to speak to your partner in theirs
-Couples therapy/counseling
-The effect your childhood has on the person you are today
-Narcissism! Something we’ve been hearing a lot about lately
-People knowing how to take accountability for their actions

So in this season we’ve talked about the initial dating stage, the ins and outs of dating in general, gender roles and how to be vulnerable with someone. We figured it was only right to wrap up our final episode of the season by talking about what to do when you want to take things to the next step. Listen along as we talk about:
-How to tell if you really like someone
-Consistency is everything
-How people express “like” and “love” in different ways
-Realizing that you don’t have to be tough all the time
-Dealing with and processing traumas, and how traumas show up in relationships
-Again, stop wasting people’s time!
-Going through the motions of dating a.k.a still auditioning for a job you may not get
-Don’t overthink things and ruin a good thing
-Living in a world of instant gratification

When you first start dating someone, you’re typically on your best behavior, as if you’re interviewing for a job. But what happens when people start to peel back a few layers? We hope you’re ready for what’s underneath. In this episode, we talk about:
-How and when to be vulnerable. Is there a such thing as being vulnerable too soon?
-What do you disclose to someone you just started dating?
-The intentions behind people being vulnerable
-Learning about triggers, pushing buttons, etc.
-Being prepared for what someone may reveal to you
-Checking in with people to see if they just want to vent, or if they need help
-Explaining how you feel in a particular moment
-Honoring your boundaries and others’
-How it takes real effort to want to be with someone EVERYDAY