Modern Couples

Open relationships can work, and they can also create problems fast when couples rush in without clarity.

In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick and Lilian talk through what it really means to “open up” and the questions that matter before anything changes.

They cover common motivations, what tends to go wrong when couples use non-monogamy as a fix for conflict, and how to set boundaries that pro...

Cheating is one of the most painful and confusing crises a couple can face. But suspicion and secrecy don’t always tell the whole story.

In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick and Lilian break down the real signs of cheating, why partners become suspicious even when no betrayal has happened, and how infidelity affects relationships far beyond the act itself.

This conversation looks at cheating th...

The holidays are supposed to bring joy, but for many couples, they bring tension instead. Deciding where to spend the holidays, whose traditions to follow, and how to manage family expectations can quickly turn into emotional minefields.

In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick and Lilian explore why holiday planning often sparks conflict, how family dynamics shape these decisions, and what couples...

What really defines a toxic relationship?

Is it the yelling, the control, the quiet dismissals, or the moments that leave you doubting your own reality? In this episode, therapists Rick Miller and Lillian Borges dig deep into one of the most difficult subjects for any couple: the fine line between normal relationship conflict and the kind of emotional damage that chips away at your sense of self.

Rick and Lillian explore what...

Trust is one of the most complex foundations of any relationship — and few topics spark as much tension as snooping and location sharing.

In this episode of Modern Couples: What Your Therapist Never Told You, Rick Miller and Lillian Borges unpack what’s really happening underneath these behaviors.

They explore why so many partners resort to snooping instead of communicating, how gender roles and past relationship wounds shape trust,...

When you hear the term “ADHD,” what do you think about? Someone with a short attention span, who is forgetful, who can’t settle down? This neurological condition is difficult to live with—whether you’re the one experiencing it, or are in a relationship with someone who is.

ADHD is like other disorders in that the resulting behavior, while frustrating, is never intentional, so both partners need to educate themselves about it and le...

Who hasn’t at one time or another referred to someone else as a narcissist? But really, the clinical version of narcissism is relatively rare… which doesn’t mean that many people don’t have narcissistic traits! Some are healthy and related to self-worth, but others are harmful—and completely invisible to the person exhibiting them.

If you’re in a relationship with a narcissist, you’re probably already struggling. Whether you stay in...

What goes unspoken when separate bedrooms become the norm?

More couples are choosing to sleep in separate rooms, but what does that actually mean for their connection?

In this episode, we explore the emotional and relational layers behind this growing trend.

Is it a practical move toward better sleep, or a quiet signal of emotional withdrawal? The answer depends less on the arrangement itself and more on the communication surrou...

Do frequent fights mean you and your partner are incompatible?

Could fights actually be part of how some couples stay connected?

In this episode, therapists Rick Miller and Lillian Borges take a closer look at what conflict reveals about relationships. They explore why fighting isn’t always a red flag, how our upbringing and attachment styles shape the way we argue, and the difference between conflict that strengthens conne...

Infidelity is one of the hottest of hot-button issues in relationships, and a never-ending source of judgment, recrimination, and pain.

But where all that misses the mark is in that infidelity isn’tjust about sex, and there’s never just one side to the story. Andsurprisingly, some relationships do survive one or the other “cheating” on them. While that’s not always possible—unmet emotional and other needs can make ending the relatio...

By now we’ve all had a chance to try ChatGPT. And it’s probable that the first few times you used it, you were amazed, right? But as time went by, you probably found it less and less enthralling. And that goes double, or maybe even triple, when you’re using it for relationship advice.

So, yeah, trusting your relationship to a machine, no matter how quick and clever it might seem, may not be the best decision you’ve ever made. Bu...

Marriages work (or don’t work) in a number of different ways. Some couples enjoy frequent sex; others have less sexual activity, or none at all. Whatever they choose is right for them, as long as both partners are in agreement about the level of intimacy they give and receive.

Problems arise when one partner wants more (or less) sexual intimacy than does the other. This can often manifest in thefeeling of being roommates rather ...