Dear Anna,

I’m a 21-year-old woman, and I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost two years. We’re really happy together, but there’s one huge problem: His family does not like me. I’ve tried everything to make a good impression — bringing thoughtful gifts, offering to help with family dinners and always being polite. But no matter ...Read more

Many of us have heard the phrase “define the relationship,” often shortened to “DTR.” One might say, “We had the DTR talk,” or “We DTR’d it.” But it turns out that one person’s DTR talk is another person’s confusion… often when those two people are in the same exact relationship!

Every Monday on Instagram, I host “Ask ...Read more

ATLANTA -- Monica Imani McCullough was an extremely shy child. The Atlanta resident lost her father when she was a teen and years later watched her mother lose a battle with Parkinson’s disease. She survived an emotional divorce, and in 2022 she was diagnosed with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Though she had written a book on loneliness ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — When you see Lisa DePaulo's byline, you don't think of the Cupid beat. In her career writing for publications like GQ, Vanity Fair, and New York and Philadelphia magazines, this tough cookie's element has had more to do with thugs and scoundrels who whack their girlfriends than nice guys looking for one.

But when her neighbor ...Read more

These days, there's no surer way to start a fight than to talk politics with someone who disagrees with you. And with election day drawing near, political conversations are increasingly difficult to avoid.

You could muddle your way through the next two months and hope for the best. Or you could take Tania Israel's advice and embrace the ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I'm 26 (F), and my boyfriend (28) and I have been together for almost three years. We moved in together six months ago, and ever since I’ve noticed a pretty big change in our sex life. Before moving in, we used to have sex several times a week, but now it’s once a week, or maybe twice if it’s, like, a special occasion. I didn�...Read more

I got a text recently from a 40-year-old male client who I’ve been working with on and off over the last few years. It said this: “I’ve been anxious to re-start dating. I just want this process to be done.”

I answered, “When you say that you want the process to be ‘done,’ what do you mean?”

Every week, at least three clients ...Read more

Your ex’s birthday is coming up, and you’re sitting there with your phone in hand, debating whether to send that little “Happy Birthday” text ... and, of course, which emoji to go with it. It seems harmless, right? Maybe even polite. And I get it. You want to show that you still care and remember the important things.

But, often, the ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I'm a 29-year-old bisexual woman. My girlfriend (30) and I have been together for almost two years, and we recently moved in together. I love her deeply, but I’ve noticed that she’s always on her phone — whether we’re watching TV, having dinner or just hanging out in bed. I’ve tried to brush it off, telling myself it's no ...Read more

Ah, the situationship—the modern-day romantic limbo that leaves many of us scratching our heads, wondering, “What are we?” If you’ve ever found yourself in this ambiguous gray area, you’re not alone. Situationships have become increasingly common in today’s dating world (were they always, and now there’s just a name for it?), where...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- She was 63.

I was 33.

We shared cocktails at a rooftop bar overlooking Sunset Boulevard during golden hour. And the connection was palpable.

No, this isn't the start to an "L.A. Affairs" romance column. But it is about a love affair of sorts. My best girlfriend of the last two decades is 30 years older than me.

I met Loraine ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- On a bench near the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in July, Peggy Cheng recalled the time a television writer pitched her a wacky sitcom centered around the unlikely scenario of a young woman who had befriended her elderly neighbors.

Cheng, who was working in TV development at the time, wasn't impressed.

"She thought it was so ...Read more

By now, we’ve all probably experimented with AI tools like ChatGPT — maybe to help us write an essay or outline for work, to help us plan a vacation, or maybe just for fun to see what kind of answers would come up to silly questions while sitting around with friends. But it recently came to my attention that some are turning to chatbots for ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a bisexual woman, married to another woman. We’ve been together for four years and things are generally good. The big issue is that my wife works as a photographer, and she’s constantly shooting with attractive models, which I totally get and I'm cool with. But here's the thing — every few months, there's a new model she'...Read more

Earlier this year, Bumble unveiled a new feature dubbed “Opening Moves.” While the popular online dating app previously stood out for only letting women send the first message after a match, the update allows female users to set a question, either from Bumble's preset examples or their own idea, for matches to respond to. For example: “Who...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been working from home for the past year, and like a lot of people, my go-to attire has been pretty relaxed — think joggers, comfy tees and sometimes even PJs if I’m being honest. It’s been a huge adjustment, but I’ve loved the comfort of dressing casually while working from my home office. Recently, though, my ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a 25-year-old guy, and a situation at work is making me really uncomfortable. An older, married co-worker recently kissed me and has been dropping hints that she wants to take things further and have an affair. I know I shouldn’t have let that kiss happen. It was dumb and I was caught off guard. I’ve been cheated on in the ...Read more

I field dating questions every week on Instagram on what I’ve dubbed “Ask Erika Monday,” and I recently received a common one that I’ve gotten variations of over and over again. The person asked, “6-7 dates. Everything is going great. I feel I need to know what he wants for our future. Too soon?”

I certainly understand where this is...Read more

There’s not much worse than the feeling of being ghosted when online dating. (For the uninitiated, consider yourself lucky, but “ghosting” is when someone you’ve been chatting with or seeing completely disappears on you without warning — no “nice meeting you but I don’t see a connection” text or anything. Just stops responding ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I need advice. I’m on the spectrum but unsure if my problem is related to my autism. Since I was a child, I've struggled to distinguish between strong admiration and romantic crushes. Often, I develop obsessive feelings for someone based on their exceptional skills in a field I'm interested in — like music or gaming. I don't ...Read more