Love etc.

Do you believe the saying “once a cheater, always a cheater”? If someone has been unfaithful before, does that mean they’re destined to do it again and again? Or are humans more complicated - more capable of change - than that?

Today, we’re talking about taking back a cheater. How do you move past the fury? How do you ever trust them again? And how do you process the shame that society tells you you should feel? For the answers to those sticky questions, we’re turning to two women who have been there and done that - who were told the awful news that their partners had strayed but decided to stay; to stick it out and see what happened next.

Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Most of us know the jagged contours of heartbreak. How they can slice your sense of self and see you crying into the nook of your couch for weeks. But what happens when that heartbreak is coupled with a nightmarish breakup - one so cruel and utterly bizarre that you question just about everything?

Today, we’re talking about nightmare breakups. To do that, we’ll be hearing from three women who are still reeling from the fallout of theirs, even years down the line. Are there neat bows or easy lessons to take from any of these tales? Well, no. But maybe that’s the point - sometimes in life and love, the experiences we have can’t be explained away. All that’s left to say about them is, well, ‘what the fuck’?

Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

This is a bizarre time for the world. COVID-19 has been incredibly detrimental to the health of people right across the world, and has had massive impacts on the economy and job stability, too.

But what about love? Relationships? Sex? What has this pandemic done to the way to relate to each other?

That's precisely what we're exploring today. In this final episode of Love Etc season two, we share stories from YOU guys - and they're far more uplifting than we first imagined. Then, we hear from Lauren - a woman who found love on the cusp of it all.

Thank you so much for listening over the last three months - it has been such a joy to bring you all this podcast and telling your stories.

Keep up to date with Bumble Australia via their Instagram, @bumble_australia.

Find Mich and Zara on Insta too, they're at @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you always wondered what motivates someone to be the other woman? Why they knowingly choose to be with someone who has a partner?

Today on the show we are talking to a woman who has been the other woman. It can be easy to demonise a person for knowingly dating someone who is in a relationship - after all, doesn’t it just come down to values? we think - but of course, the world isn’t as simple as that. So, today we’re talking to a woman called Michelle (yes, a different Michelle) who just happened to fall in love as she entered the police force with a man who had a girlfriend.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in the sex industry? Have you ever wondered how that work would read when it was eventually turned into a memoir?

Today, we’re interviewing the powerhouse that is Rita Therese. Here’s the thing about Rita - she’s widely renowned for being one of the most in-demand sex workers in Australia, yes, but she’s also regarded as one of the country’s rising artistic talents. Because as Rita’s profile under her alias Gia James has grown, so too has has her profile as a prolific artist and writer.

This interview is actually from a couple of months ago - before the world turned weird and what we consider “normal” changed drastically. We still wanted to share it though, not only as an escape from what’s going on, but to have a much-needed conversation around sex work and feminism, from a woman who isn’t just an expert in the field, but in philosophy too.

At 26 Rita has just published her first book - a memoir called Come - which details her time in the sex industry as well a life of significant personal tragedy and trauma. Here, she tells us what sex work is actually like - even when she has struggled with what she calls “debilitating social anxiety” in the past.

If you loved this chat with Rita Therese, please do buy her new memoir Come. It’s an arresting read, and unlike anything you’ve probably come across before. We can’t recommend it enough. You can also find her on Instagram @rita_therese__.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Content note: this episode deals with issues around emotional abuse and may be triggering for some listeners.

Today, we’re telling a story of emotional and psychological abuse.

In the midst of a global pandemic where so many of us are self-isolating at home with our partners, it’s more important than ever we recognise what an unhealthy, abusive relationship looks like. Too, it’s important that we can recognise the signs from afar, to look out for our friends and the people we love to make sure they aren’t trapped or being controlled within the walls of their relationship.

If this episode brings up issues for you - or of you or someone you know is experiencing psychological abuse, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or through their online chat.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Is there a possibility that your attraction to other people doesn’t fit into a neat box? Or, maybe - just maybe - have you walked away from a great love in search of who you really are, and what you really want?

Today, we’re talking to one woman about the experience of discovering her sexuality in the midst of a committed relationship to a man. Here’s Livv. A woman who fell madly in love with a man named Jason, only to learn that deep down she’d always yearned for something he couldn’t offer.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Are you feeling a little lonely? Are you yearning for connection in a period where we’ve been instructed to stay inside?

Today, we’re talking about loneliness and connection at a time we are all physically further from each other than ever.

You can read How Loneliness from Coronavirus Isolation Takes Its Own Toll by Robin Wright for The New Yorker here.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever been in a secret relationship? Have you ever felt like if you told the world who you were dating they would instantly judge you? Or, have you always been intrigued by love that seems so much more dramatic than your own?

Today, we’re talking about forbidden love. To do that, we’re bringing you three stories from three very different women who all have remarkable tales of keeping their relationship a secret.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.

Have you ever been tempted to become a sugar baby? Does the prospect of being paid - literally paid - by an older, wealthier partner sound appealing to you? Today, we speak to a woman who did exactly that. Mia spent two years with a married man and gave her bank account a healthy boost after every dinner and fancy hotel stay.

So, would she recommend being a sugar baby to other women? We guess you'll have to listen and find out.

Want to follow Michelle and Zara? They're on Instagram @michelleandrews1 and @zamcdonald.

Sign up to Bumble Australia today, the social networking app where women make the first move.

Love etc. is a production of Shameless Media.