is having a boyfriend embarrassing now?

This week, we’re unpacking a question that stopped us in our tracks after reading the viral Vogue article: is having a boyfriend… embarrassing now? While we may be late to the game on this one, the conversation is still as relevant as ever. Somehow, we’ve landed in a cultural moment where independence is celebrated, detachment is cool, and wanting a relationship can feel a little… cringe? From situationships to soft-launching partners (or never launching them at all), dating in your 30s feels very different than it did even a few years ago.We get into it all — starting with the very real, very humbling moments that come with modern dating (including Nicole being left on a curb waiting for an Uber that never included her). Meagan shares her snowstorm-induced breaking point, living on the eighth floor, feeling stuck, overstimulated, and over it — which somehow feels like the perfect metaphor for dating right now.From there, we zoom out and talk about what’s actually happening beneath the surface:Why being “chill” and unattached became the gold standardThe pressure women feel to prove they don’t need anyoneHow independence got confused with emotional distanceAnd why wanting partnership doesn’t make you weak, embarrassing, or behindWe also talk about the quiet contradiction so many of us live in: building full, beautiful, independent lives — while still wanting love, intimacy, and someone to come home to. Both can exist. Neither cancels the other out.If you’ve ever felt weird admitting you want a relationship… or judged for staying single… or confused about what you’re supposed to want at this stage of life — this one’s for you.