Introducing Oprah and renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel on What We Really Want in a Relationship from The Oprah Podcast.

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World-renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel returns to The Oprah Podcast to share her brilliant relationship insights with a live audience. Esther has incisive advice for Gen Z women who’ve given up on dating, a mother of five struggling to heal old wounds in her marriage and a single mom who put her dating life on hold to focus on raising her son. Plus, Esther reveals what she learned during her first-ever therapy session between a man and his AI chatbot girlfriend. She also reflects on the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking book Mating in Captivity — and why, in today’s age of disconnection, its message is more crucial than ever.

BUY THE BOOK!

The 20th anniversary edition of Mating in Captivity, published by HarperCollins and written by Esther Perel, is available wherever books are sold.

https://www.estherperel.com/mating-in-captivity

00:00:00 - Welcome Esther Perel

00:03:00 - Desire in long-term relationships

00:05:12 - Relationships in 2006 vs. 2026

00:08:45 - We’re more connected and less accessible

00:10:32 - 3 most common sex challenges today

00:13:00 - Esther’s dating advice

00:17:30 - One person can’t be everything

00:21:05 - The love myth we learned

00:22:50 - What to look for in a partner

00:25:30 - Relationship ambivalence

00:29:40 - Relationships with chatbots

00:36:36 - Chatbot relationships are here

00:37:57 - When couples therapy took off

00:39:00 - Healing from relationship ruptures

00:42:00 - Importance of repair

00:46:00 - How to date again

00:48:28 - Healing from heartbreak

00:54:50 - How Esther understands people

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