Dates & Mates with Damona Hoffman
From navigating dating apps to overcoming the friendzone to seeking a soulmate, this ain’t your momma’s love advice! Hosted by the Official Love Expert of The Drew Barrymore Show and LA Times advice columnist, Damona Hoffman, Dates & Mates is jam-packed with interviews from your favorites celebs, authors, and experts. Dates & Mates is the 2022 Winner of The Best Podcast of the Year at The Black Podcasting Awards, #1 ranked love and relationship podcast by Cosmopolitan Magazine and a Top 10 Pick by HuffPost in the love category.
Episodes
January 13, 2026 • 34 mins
Damona is joined by her good friend Danny Santos, shaman, healer, astrologer, and tarot reader, to look at the astrology of 2026 and how it’s setting the stage for love this year.
What You'll Hear In This Episode
Key transits and cosmic shifts to watch out for in the year ahead
Which houses in your birth chart actually matter for compatibility, and why your moon sign may reveal more than your sun sign
Taylor Swift and T...
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January 6, 2026 • 48 mins
How many times have you swiped through endless options and come up empty? You've got matches, you've got conversations, but you don't have clarity. And clarity is what dating in 2026 is all about.
In this episode, we share what the data is telling us about the future of dating and relationships. Damona isn’t making vague predictions; she shares 9 clear themes that are likely to emerge this year,grounded in research from major dati...
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December 16, 2025 • 25 mins
What is the magical first date zone between oversharing and playing it too cool?
A listener named Brian shares:
"I realize I have two dating modes. Either I dump all my emotional baggage on the first date, or I stay super chill and keep everything surface level, even when I want to go deeper. I've been hurt enough times that I just don't trust people to really be there for me anymore. How do I communicate in a healthy way without...
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December 9, 2025 • 29 mins
You've been married for 29 years. You're newly separated at 52. Your inbox is suddenly full of men in their twenties and thirties. And you're sitting there wondering: what the heck is going on?
A listener we call Confused in Coatesville shares:
"I'm separated a year in the process of divorce after 29 years of marriage. I'm 52 and I'm told that I look a lot younger. On dating apps, I'm getting hit up by a lot of 30-somethings and ...
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December 2, 2025 • 30 mins
How can you have 50+ matches and still no dates? Every conversation either fizzles out or someone reschedules and disappears. And worst of all, you keep seeing the same faces on every app year after year.
A listener named S shares:
"I end up with 50-plus matches like within 48 hours, which okay, great. But then I either get too overwhelmed by so many conversations and endless swiping and all the same people, or I narrow it down a...
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November 25, 2025 • 18 mins
Ever notice how the holidays have a way of forcing conversations you've been avoiding? When someone you're dating wants to introduce their whole life to yoursbut you've been keeping parts of that life hidden,it's not just awkward timing. It's a moment of truth.
A listener named Kayla shares:
"I've been dating this guy for 10 months and things are getting serious. He has a five-year-old son from a previous relationship, and I've m...
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November 18, 2025 • 24 mins
He says he wants to take things slow and get to know you organically. But when direct questions about his background get dodged, he frames your need for basic information as paranoia, and something's off.
A listener named Jada shares:
"We matched two weeks ago and the chemistry is amazing. He texts good morning and goodnight, he's enthusiastic about meeting up. But whenever I ask specifics like where he works, what neighborhood h...
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November 11, 2025 • 22 mins
Your best friend used to be your first call. Now you have to schedule weeks in advance just to see her, and her new boyfriend keeps calling your friendship "codependent."
A listener named Sarah shares:
"My best friend and I have been inseparable for six years. We talk every day, we're each other's emergency contacts, and honestly she feels more like family than my actual family. But lately her new boyfriend has been making commen...
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November 4, 2025 • 18 mins
Uncommon Goods makes holiday shopping stress-free and joyful with thousands of one-of-a-kind gifts you can't find anywhere else. So shop early, have fun, and cross some names off your list today. To get 15% off your next gift, visit uncommongoods.com/datesmates (Cast Sensitive) _______________________________________
Ever meet someone you really like, but there's this invisible wall around certain topics they won't talk about?...
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October 28, 2025 • 22 mins
Ever meet someone who feels right on every emotional level, but the finance math ain’t mathin’?
A listener named Ray shares:
"I met a wonderful man online. We went on two amazing dates. He's attentive, attractive, and dare I say we had a magical connection. Here's the thing: it seems he's going through a major life transition. He quit his tech job nine months ago and has been figuring it out. His phone only works on Wi-Fi and he ...
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October 21, 2025 • 20 mins
Ever feel stuck managing someone else's emotional chaos when you're just trying to get through the day?
This week we're tackling a different kind of relationship: the one between you and your boss. What happens when someone in a professional setting starts treating you like their therapist, and you can't just hit mute, unsubscribe, block and delete and walk away?
This week, a listener shares:
"My boss talks to me like I'm her be...
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October 17, 2025 • 33 mins
We are sharing a special episode this week, from Dr. Sharon Malone's new podcast, The Second Opinion.
On this show, women take back the conversation on health with straight talk, real experience, and the care we all deserve. You’ll hear prominent female advocates, experts and patients just like you sharing how they confronted gaps in our healthcare system and got second opinions that saved their lives.
Alongside each guest,...
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October 14, 2025 • 29 mins
Ever feel like you're speaking different languages with your partner, literally? When one of you wants deep conversations over text and the other needs to actually hear a voice, it's not just frustrating. It's creating real distance.
This week, a listener shares:
"I'm seeing this guy and we have totally different ways of communicating and it's starting to become a problem. He's all about texting, like everything is through text...
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October 7, 2025 • 23 mins
Help Dates & Mates win a Signal Award! Vote by October 9th at damonahoffman.com/award
Loving someone who can't love you back the same way is one of the most tender, complicated situations in relationships. Sometimes the safest relationship in your life becomes the hardest one to navigate, and the person who knows you best is also the one you want most.
This week, a listener shares:
"I'm in love with my best friend. I'm a que...
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September 30, 2025 • 22 mins
Do you believe that Love Wins? Dates & Mates is a finalist for our first-ever Signal Award, and we need every single listener to make their voice heard. We are the ONLY relationship-focused and independently produced podcast nominated in the How To & Advice category.
If you have ever been helped, inspired, or changed by listening to this podcast, this is the moment to let me know.
It takes 30 seconds or less to VOTE at damonaho...
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September 23, 2025 • 29 mins
What happens if you get to the third date and it still feels awkward? Grin and bear it? Or keep waiting for chemistry? And how can you trust that your gut is telling you the right thing?
This week, a listener shares: "I met a man who checks every box on paper. He’s kind, reliable, matches my values… but I feel absolutely nothing. No spark. No butterflies. Is something wrong with me?"
In this episode, Damona shares the truth about...
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September 16, 2025 • 42 mins
This week, Damona is joined by her longtime friend, TV and TikTok superstarMatchmaker Maria, a fourth-generation matchmaker with no time for fairy tale fluff.
They get real about why dating feels so lonely now,, the truth about relationship timelines, and why your deep texting doesn’t count as actual connection.
Whether you're stuck on the apps or spiraling in dating burnout, Maria shares practical tools from her new book Ask a ...
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September 9, 2025 • 26 mins
We often talk about romance, but this week, we’re taking a closer look at the quiet epidemic affecting millions: the erosion of deep friendships and emotional openness, especially among men.
What happens when someone says “I miss you”... and it feels too risky to say it back? How do cultural norms shape our ability to express care, and how can we start to rebuild emotional intimacy, not just in partnerships, but in friendships too...
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September 2, 2025 • 23 mins
We’ve all had that one date…the one that felt like lightning. Everything clicks, and before you know it, you're imagining forever. But when you act on that high too quickly, reality can come crashing down hard.
This week, a listener shares: “Late at night, I had to get these thoughts off my mind. I told her I felt like I think I'd found my wife. She expressed that she was disappointed that I would say this after what she told me...
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August 26, 2025 • 22 mins
Grief changes us, and sometimes, it’s also what brings us together.
This week, a listener shares: “My partner and I both lost our spouses, and we bonded over that. Now, three months in, I’m the only one opening up and being vulnerable. Am I asking too much? Or moving too fast?”
In this episode, Damona explores what it really means to show up emotionally after loss, and why vulnerability often doesn’t look the same from both sides...
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