Love Rants

In the final episode of this season of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, social media star Erin Barnett joins host Melissa Mason to discuss the problems she’s experienced living with polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, both physical and emotional.

Diagnosed with PCOS at a very young age, and diagnosed with endo at 19, she's undergone 17 surgeries in an attempt to help treat her pain. She's had multiple cysts removed, including one over 3kgs that was discovered when she was just 14. She's had an ovary removed, a fallopian tube removed and, most recently, has undergone a complete hysterectomy to help ease her condition. And she's only 28 years old.

In this episode, Barnett and Mason discuss:

• Barnett’s history with both PCOS and endometriosis.
• The process of undergoing a total hysterectomy.
• The backlash she received for choosing not to be a mother.
• Her advice for others going through the same thing.

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Erin Barnett on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's episode of POPSUGAR's Love Rants, sexologist Chantelle Otten joins host Melissa Mason to discuss why some of us experience pain and discomfort during sex, what are the solutions, and how those impacted can bring it up with those we're intimate with.

Otten, arguably Australia's most well-known sexologist, has long been on a mission to eliminate the shame and stigma when talking about problems like this. Otten offers therapy and advice — and sex education for adults — that is helping normalise these conversations among ourselves and our peers. Her book, The Sex Ed You Never Had, is all giving readers knowledge that's both empowering and without shame. But, stigmas aren't erased overnight. 

In this episode, Otten and Mason discuss:

• The stats around how many women experience pain during sex.
• The stigmas that exist around the topic within the medical field.
• The concerning advice clients have told Otten they’ve received, and why it’s concerning.
• How to discuss these issues with your partner, be it a long-term relationship or casual hook-up.

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Chantelle Otten on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warning: this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants discusses sexual assault and maybe be triggering for some listeners.

In this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, Melissa Mason sits down with consent and sexual education advocate Chanel Contos as they unpack the nuances and considerations around those topics that governments and schools all too often miss.

Contos' widespread movement pushing for holistic sexual education took off after she posted a simple question on her Instagram story: have you or has someone you know been sexually assaulted by someone who attended an all-boys Sydney private school? Within 24 hours, over 200 people replied ‘Yes’.

From there, Contos launched her website — Teach Us Consent — which advocates for holistic consent and sex education. In February of last year, the initiative smashed a huge milestone, with Ministers of Education nationwide committing to mandating "holistic and age-appropriate consent education in every school, every year, from foundation until Year 10", starting this year.

But, Contos says we still have a long way to go. In this episode, her and Mel discuss:

• The crucial difference between ‘no means no’ and ‘only yes means yes’
• Where government and schools are falling short around consent and sexual education
• How lessons around consent have been taught over time
• Why enthusiastic consent should be the end goal

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Chanel Contos on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

If this article brings up any issues for you or anyone you know, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the National Sexual Assault, domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, host Melissa Mason (she/hers) chats to activist and social media superstar April Hélène-Horton (she/her) – also known as The Bodzilla – about the infinitely complex relationships we all have with ourselves.

April says that the only thing we can do to make sure we’re bettering ourselves every day is to stand strong in your beliefs every day. That’s the thing that’ll keep you centred. To put it bluntly, April says, “You have to be willing to be a person that you 10 years ago would’ve hated.”

Other topics April and Melissa discuss in this episode include:

• How calling others out for problematic behaviour starts from within.
• The difference between what holds you back and what stops you from moving forward.
• How societal systems in place can impact our relationships with ourselves.
• Knowing when to pick your battles with other people who actively misunderstand you, and knowing what actions can actually help.

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and April Hélène-Horton on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, Melissa Mason (she/her) sits down with writer, model, dancer and originator of the POPSUGAR Love Rants column, Laura Roscioli (she/her) to discuss the real connection between sex and intimacy.

Laura says she uses the internet as her diary, with bylines across many publications and her very own newsletter. She often speaks about sex and intimacy with a refreshing and unfiltered tone of voice and gets to the heart of how most of us have felt at one point or another.

In this episode, Laura and Mel will discuss:

• Why do we put so much pressure on sex, when it comes to connection? 
• What are some ways aside from sex, that you can experience intimacy?
• Is intimacy only something that happens when you’re in a relationship?
• Is physical intimacy as important as emotional intimacy? 
• Does a relationship need both to survive? 

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Laura Roscioli on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, Melissa Mason (she/her) is joined by dating and relationship coach Nicole Colantoni (she/her) and they’re talking all about attachment styles. Chances are you know — or think you know — what your attachment style is, but where exactly are attachment styles born? And how do we navigate different attachment styles in our relationships?

Nicole tells Mel that there are four key attachment styles:

• Secure Attachment
• Anxious Attachment
• Avoidant Attachment
• Disorganised Attachment

But how do these attachment styles differ? And how can they impact your love life, for better or worse?

In this episode, Mel and Nicole will discuss:

• What is attachment?
• Where different attachment theories stem from.
• Do attachment styles really affect adult relationships?
• Do we place too much importance on ‘defining’ who we are, and thus trying to always fit into this ‘box’ we place ourselves in? 
• Can someone move through different attachment styles within the course of their relationship?
• Can you be one attachment style in one relationship, and something else in the next?

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Nicole Colantoni on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants, Melissa Mason (she/her) is joined by Allira Potter (she/they) and they talk about how to love yourself, whether you’re in a relationship or not. They’ll also discuss how self-love can change when your relationship status does, how to maintain self-love through a break-up, as well as their own self-love journeys.

Allira Potter is a Yorta-Yorta creator, writer and all-around advocate for the spiritual empowerment of self. Her work helping to disrupt and redefine the wellness space, making room for more diverse representation in a white-dominated landscape, has led to her being a go-to source for education on loving yourself, regardless of body type.

In this episode, Mel and Allira will discuss:

• What does self-love actually mean?
• How can we work against the natural instincts to people please, and actually set healthy boundaries?
• How can you separate the love you feel from others from the love you feel for yourself?
• Is it harder to maintain or navigate a relationship if you don’t love yourself? If so, why?
• What role does self-compassion play in self-love, and how does it affect your interactions and connections with your partner?

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia, Melissa Mason and Allira Potter on Instagram.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Carmen and Mel will break down the relationship between love and sexuality, how Carmen navigates the two in her relationship, and how both feelings can evolve within a relationship.

The ultimate media slashy, PR exec/content creator/marketing and social media manager/all-around style icon Carmen Azzopardi has fostered an online community that’s all about being unapologetically yourself. Being the resident ‘PR fairy’ for Dypsnea, Azzopardi always encourages her audience to feel their sexiest. But what does that journey look like?

They’ll tackle these questions, plus anything else that pops up that is relevant to the conversation: 

• How can you separate the love you feel from others from the love you feel for yourself?
• Is it harder to maintain or navigate a relationship if you don’t love yourself? If so, why?
• What role does self-compassion play in self-love, and how does it affect your interactions and connections with your partner?
• How can you strike a balance between loving yourself and prioritizing your partner's needs in a relationship?

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason, and read POPSUGAR Australia’s interview with Carmen Azzopardi here.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past couple of weeks, the host of POPSUGAR’s Love Rants podcast, Melissa Mason, has been speaking with content creators, authors, journalists, and even therapists about the ins and outs of love, sex, and dating. 

But, on the newest episode of Love Rants, Mel is going solo and answering questions from you: the fans!

In this episode, Mel will answer questions like:

• I really like the guy I'm seeing, but all of a sudden, his jokes are annoying me. I used to think that they were so funny until recently. What is wrong?
• How do you deal with people's opinions on the age gap in your relationship?
• Sometimes I still use my ex's nudes to masturbate, is that normal?
• I don't love my partner anymore, but we live together and have all the same friends. I don't know how to leave the relationship.

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Mel and Tammi discuss how sexting has changed sex, love and relationships, whether it be for better or for worse. And, as AI begins to penetrate every aspect of our lives, how is it going to impact our love life?

Tammi Sue helps Aussies work through their ‘stucks’ with her psychotherapy work at BARE Therapy, as a way to combat rising levels of anxiety across demographics. With digital foreplay also on the rise, Tammi explores why a connection so inherently human is now reliant on communication using man-made technology? And why do we love it?

This podcast is presented by POPSUGAR Australia and is sponsored by Youly, a platform exclusively for women that says “Buck that!” to the traditional healthcare system. Get online and get faster access to women’s health and medicine by visiting Youly’s website.

Follow POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason.

POPSUGAR Australia and Melissa Mason acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Producer: Forbes Street Studios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.