Dating Intentionally

We have five new dating dilemmas! I'm answering listener questions about uneven effort, intense early connections, addiction recovery, confusing endings, and relationships that move way too fast.

I get into...

• What it means when you're always the one initiating dates
• How to tell the difference between interest and investment
• Why we ignore red flags when we're excited about someone
• The mistake people make after noticing a shift in so...

What can we learn about dating from Love Island? Turns out - a lot.I'm watching Love Island USA Season 8 to pull real-life dating takeaways from the villa. This week (episodes 5-9), I'm getting into early dating expectations, knowing your needs, and how important it is to let someone show you who they are. Actions speak louder than words every time. I also talk about how people pleasing can be harmful and why it's GOOD that secure ...

Have you read or heard of the book Attached? I'm chatting with Dr. Amir Levine, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author of Secure and co-author of Attached, a book that has indefinitely changed my life. In this episode, we break down exactly how to attract and spot a securely attached person in early dating, and how to build more security in your life (whether you're in a relationship or not). At the end, ...

In this episode, I'm walking you through everything you need to nail a first date, from confirming the time and getting in the right mindset to navigating the conversation, handling the check, and knowing whether to go in for the kiss. This episode originally aired in January 2024/ At the end, I tackle a new dating dilemma about a woman who's dating a guy who didn't acknowledge her birthday.

You'll learn...

• Six mindset tips for a...

I’m Talia, host of Dating Intentionally, and I’m kicking off a six-week “Love Island Lessons” series alongside Love Island USA Season 8 (spoilers for episodes 1–4) to pull real-life dating takeaways from the villa. Tune in to hear me break down five key lessons about early dating we learned this week in the villa: why trying to be chosen keeps you stuck, how jumping to conclusions pushes people away an...

I'm chatting with my best friend Rachel Saslaw, founder of Storytell NYC. She talks about how she spent six years actively dating before landing a committed relationship with an amazing match in an unexpected way. We're discussing everything from why she refused to subscribe to the "men suck" mentality to using dating as a training ground for self-discovery to the "flirting with life" energy that shifted everything. At the end, we ...

In this episode, I'm breaking down the 3 core mistakes that lead people to commit to the wrong person. It's not a broken picker or a shortage of good people out there. I'm covering why dating for potential keeps you stuck, what happens when you don't know or can't communicate your non-negotiable needs, and why ignoring your gut (which is quieter than anxiety) almost always backfires. I share my own stories from past relationships, ...

I'm chatting with Sandy Weiner, a dating coach who has spent 13 years helping people date after divorce, and started her own dating journey at 52 after leaving a 23-year marriage. We're discussing everything from knowing when you're actually ready to date again to navigating the "jaded factor" in midlife dating to having the dating conversation with your kids (at any age). Sandy also shares why being picky about what matters and wi...

Communication is the most important thing in a relationship, but no one tells you what good communication actually looks like in practice. In this episode, I'm getting into relationship check-ins: the structured conversations my husband, Johnny, and I have had about 70 times over three years, and the single biggest reason our day-to-day relationship is virtually tension-free. I'm walking you through the exact questions we use (base...

I'm chatting with Trevor Hanson, a licensed marriage and family therapist. He and his team at The Art Of Healing help people move from anxious attachment to secure attachment in a structured, results-oriented way. We get into what anxious attachment actually looks like in dating for both men and women, why you can feel totally secure when you're single but completely fall apart once a relationship starts, and what emotionally corre...

Emotional availability is one of the most desired traits in a partner, but it's so hard to find. In this episode, I'm walking through four real listener dilemmas that show how emotional unavailability actually shows up: from being blindsided by a breakup after a seemingly perfect relationship, to oversharing too early with someone you barely know, to getting stuck in a months-long holding pattern, to wondering if your sky-high stan...

This episode originally aired on Sex Ed with DB!

In Sleepless in Seattle, a woman hears a stranger’s voice on the radio and decides she has to be with him. A few cross-country flights, some light stalking, and one dramatic Empire State Building finale later. Was it a recipe for true love? Or just another rom-com ignoring boundaries in the name of "destiny?"

In this episode, I joined DB to unpack the film’s gender dynamic...

I'm chatting with Hanna Anderson and Mackenzie Foltz, the co-hosts of The Dating Detectives, a podcast that combines real PI work with deeply ethical storytelling about people who got conned in love. We're discussing everything from what "dogfishing" actually is (and how it's different from catfishing) to the subtle early red flags most people miss, to why love bombing feels so good even when it's a setup. Mackenzie and Hanna also ...

In this episode, I'm covering how attraction actually works when you're dating for a long-term relationship, from how to know if you're attracted to someone and what's "enough," to how long to give it before walking away, to how attraction can grow over time and what it actually takes for that to happen. I'm also answering a few listener questions, and at the end, I tackle a dating dilemma about a confusing Bumble interaction.

MENTI...

I'm chatting with Keltie Maguire, a life coach who specializes in helping people navigate the kids-or-child-free decision — a topic we've never covered on this show before. After spending years as a fence-sitter herself before ultimately choosing a child-free life, Keltie now helps individuals and couples gain clarity on one of the most complex decisions they'll ever make. We're discussing everything from why "you'll just kno...

Don't let your situationship stop you from getting into a relationship. In this episode, I'm getting into how situationships happen in the first place to why leaving feels impossible to the exact words to use when you finally end it. I share my own 2-year situationship story, break down the difference between situationships and casual dating or friends with benefits, and give you a real plan for healing that works. At the end, I ta...

I'm chatting with Amy Chan, relationship expert, retreat founder, and author of the brand-new book Unsingle, about why most people are just a few strategic adjustments away from finding their match. We're discussing everything from the dating funnel (and which stage you're most likely sabotaging) to the spectrum between having no standards and over-icking yourself out of love to why dating is a personality game, but relationships a...

In this episode, I'm covering one of the biggest sticking points in early dating: feeling connected between dates. I'm getting into the mindset work and how to stop the spiral, including my top practical tips for building connection between dates without overdoing it. Along the way, we talk about the role of phone calls, texting habits, and how to bring this up on a date without making it awkward. At the end, I tackle a dating dile...

I'm chatting with Sharleen Joynt and Andy Levine, the husband-and-wife hosts of Dear Shandy, one of my favorite reality TV recap podcasts. We're discussing everything from what Love Is Blind contestants keep getting wrong (and how it mirrors real life) to why Andy believes online dating is the slow death of modern romance, to how to bring up the "big" topics on a first date. This episode is packed with practical dating advice from ...