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Elena Titova/Dreamstime/TNS

Erika Ettin: How do you know if someone is ready to date?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Question: “How do you ask if a guy is ready for a relationship if he is ripe off of a five-year relationship?”

This is a question I received recently, and I get some form of the “How do I know if someone else is ready?” question quite frequently.

My response:

“People are notoriously bad at self-assessing their readiness. The only ...Read more

Benzoix/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: How to handle being single during cuffing season without losing your mind

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

Usually Mariah Carey season is my favorite, but this year I’m struggling. Everywhere I look, people are cozying up, planning cute holiday dates and posting about their jolly AF lives. Meanwhile, I’m single, spending my evenings scrolling through dating apps and wondering if I should just settle for someone mediocre so I’m not ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: From situationships to dating apps -- a guide to starting fresh

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

My partner and I broke up in late April but we had a situationship over the summer. I’m a sophomore in college and I’m excited to get back out there. There’s one problem, I have no clue what I’m doing. I’ve only recently started to learn about sexual guilt and shame because I never focused too much on it while in my ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

How to attract quality in your dating profile

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

“How can I write in my online dating profile to attract the type of person I’m looking for?”

This is a question I get, in some form or another, from clients almost daily. In their mind, they have a target partner. Let’s say this “target” is a man in his 60s, well-educated, with grown children, and lives in Philadelphia. Or maybe ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: My fiancee wants a 'free pass' before the wedding

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

My fiancee and I have been together for three years, and I thought everything was great. Last night, however, during dinner, she brought up something that completely blindsided me: the idea of us each having a "pass" to sleep with someone else before the wedding. She said it would be healthy for our relationship and help us start our...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

'Should sex with one person mean you stop going on dates with other people?'

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

“Should sex with one person mean you stop going on dates with other people?”

This is a question someone asked me recently. In my line of work as a dating coach, things come up in all areas of the early dating process—how to use the apps efficiently, what to do/say on a first date, when/what to text, how to build connection and chemistry, ...Read more

Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

This couple got married Saturday -- immediately after running the Philadelphia Half Marathon

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

PHILADELPHIA — The brides wore running gear — sneakers, comfy shirts, and, for one of them, a black ball cap that said “I Do.”

Kara McElvaine and Shelbie Turner got married Saturday while running the Philadelphia Half Marathon, exchanging vows every mile, smiling through the finish line.

“We decided to celebrate being each other’s ...Read more

Phichitpon Intamoon/Dreamstime/TNS

Talk politics with family on holidays? Maybe don't, psychologist says

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

ATLANTA -- After a contentious election cycle, many people look forward to the holidays as a time to reset. But some of us dread talking about politics with certain family members. Producer Natalie Mendenhall spoke to Drew Westen, a professor emeritus at Emory University and a licensed psychologist.

Here’s that interview with tips for you on ...Read more

Tero Vesalainen/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: She's not over her ex, and you're not OK with casual -- what now?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

I’ve been seeing this girl for about two months, and while things have been fun, I’m struggling with how close she still is to her ex. They were together for seven years and broke up six months ago, but it feels like he’s still very present in her life. He even comes over frequently. She has photos of them all over, and her ...Read more

Cycv/Dreamstime/TNS

7 dating mistakes that you can fix right now

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

You can’t “create” chemistry, either online or in person, but you can do a few tangible things to increase your odds a bit. I want to share 7 dating mistakes that you can fix right now:

1. Using unflattering profile pictures.

You say, “Does it really matter?” The answer is yes. Yes, it does. You get one chance to make a first ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Long-lost mother and son find healing and sweet reunion at bakery

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

CHICAGO -- Lenore Lindsey did not consider herself a baker when she opened Give Me Some Sugah at age 50 in 2008. Neither did Vamarr Hunter when he took over the South Shore bakery this year at the same age.

The late-in-life knack for baking isn’t the only parallel in their stories, first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. Hunter never dreamed...Read more

Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

What is the South Korean 4B movement and why are American women claiming to embrace it?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

In a TikTok post that’s been liked by more than a million users, TikTok user @rabbitsandtea, who goes by “A,” sits on a couch dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her long, brown hair untied, she is petting her cat while hawk-like bird calls play in the background. Text on the screen reads: “Doing my part as an American woman by ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Can a planner and a non-planner really make it work?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

You’re a planner. You have your calendar color-coded, dinner reservations booked a month in advance, and you know exactly what you’ll be doing on your next vacation, down to which café you’ll stop at for your all-important afternoon iced coffee.

You meet someone who’s all about “going with the flow,” a non-planner who would sooner ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: Is it wrong to break up because of their toxic family?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

I've been with my boyfriend for two years now. We’re both in our mid-20s. His family is honestly the most toxic group of people I’ve ever encountered, and it's taking a huge toll on me. They’ve caused nothing but chaos and drama, moving in and out of our place, causing fights, skipping bills and even trashing our house. My ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: How can I move past my boyfriend's cringey DMs?

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

I've been dating my boyfriend (36M) for five months, and recently, I found out that he had quite a reputation for sending unsolicited, borderline harassy messages to women online. A coworker of mine showed me some of his old DMs on Instagram — telling her how hot she was, and asking her out repeatedly, even though she never replied...Read more

Sabelskaya/Dreamstime/TNS

'Still single' versus 'single and available'

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

“In your opinion, why am I still single? I want love to find me!!”

This is a text message I received recently from a frustrated client of mine.

I actually get this question more often than one might think. I replied, “This sounds like a question that can’t be answered over text. But I’ll start here: You’ve had relationships before,...Read more

Draftfolio/Dreamstime/TNS

Want to help a friend find love? Give a PowerPoint presentation

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

LOS ANGELES -- As a woman prepares to pitch her friend to an audience of roughly 200 eager singles, a few of their pals skip around the room, hold up cardboard signs that say "Team Jason" and hype up the crowd. A live band plays early 2000s pop music while the eligible bachelor makes his way to the stage and sits on a velvet blue couch under a ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Ask Anna: The art of screening dates -- build connections while protecting your time

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

Dear Anna,

I’m a 40-year-old newly divorced career gal, and dipping my toes back into the dating pool after a long marriage. I’m not looking for anything super serious just yet, but I also don’t want to waste time on people who aren’t genuinely interested or who have wildly different values or goals than I do. The idea of endless dates ...Read more

Tero Vesalainen/Dreamstime/TNS

These photos don't belong in your profile

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

As anyone who's swiped on Tinder, Hinge or Bumble can attest, some of the photos our eyes come across, well, leave a lot to be desired. In fact, the photos you choose can make or break your profile before someone even reads your bio (which will obviously be well-crafted if you’ve been taking my advice!).

In my 13+ years of helping people with...Read more

Yulia Gapeenko/Dreamstime/TNS

Is dining with strangers the cure for loneliness? These people think so, thanks to a new app

Life Advice / Dating Advice /

PHILADELPHIA — On a Wednesday night around 7, Morgan Steffy arrived at El Rey in Philadelphia's Center City area, following directions from an app she had downloaded two months ago. The app directed the 30-year-old West Philly software engineer to sit at Table 2, where she joined a Temple University doctor, a nomad who works in health care ...Read more

 

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