First Dates & Soulmates: A Romance Podcast

This week, Meg & Nikki are unpacking the latest Netflix romcom: Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation. In this episode, they dig into: * Why this story feels like the romance version of a beef trifle: enjoyable, chaotic, structurally confusing * Friends-to-lovers, long-term pining, and the danger of resetting the conflict instead of escalating it * The When Harry Met Sally comparisons and diffe...

Episodes 5 and 6 of Heated Rivalry deliver what can only be described as a masterclass in slow-burn payoff. We get hugs and cuddles, hard truths, loopy Shane declarations, the iconic cottage invitation, and finally (finally!!) two men who sit down and use their words like adults (growth!). In this third Heated Rivalry episode, Meg & Nikki are once again joined by Andréa Jones to break down: * Why...

What happens when the NFL decides it wants Hallmark’s audience and Hallmark decides it wants football money? You get Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story , a G-rated Christmas movie stuffed with snow, Bills Mafia, stadium lore, and enough exposition to qualify as cardio. Nikki and Meg are joined by Buffalo native and Bills superfan Sara Frandina to break down Hallmark’s second NFL crossover, unpa...

It’s Christmas Eve, which means one thing in the FDSM universe: extremely specific holiday tropes, deeply unserious games, and a shocking number of dead bodies lurking just offstage. This week, Meg and Nikki dig into the microtropes that make holiday romances and Hallmark movies so bingeable. Then Meg unleashes not one but two games, including a rapid-fire “Love or Murder?” guessing round and a fu...

This week, Meg and Nikki head back to small-town romance heaven with Norah Pritchard, author of “If You Were Mine”, the winter installment of her Northfield series. Think runaway bride, grumpy sheriff, snowed-in forced proximity, meddling aunts, and a Christmas tree lot that absolutely understands the assignment. They talk: * Grumpy/sunshine as an emotional ignition device * Forced proximity, snow...

This bonus episode exists because the fandom demanded it. And because Episodes 3 and 4 of Heated Rivalry emotionally drop-kicked us into the boards. Nikki, Meg, and Andrea are back to break down the tonal shift of Episode 3 (Hunter), the rise of Scott “Softest Boy Alive” Hunter, then spiral into Episode 4 (Rose), where the tuna melt scene detonates the emotional core of the show. First names are s...

In this holly-jolly chaos-fest, Nikki once again interviews Meg’s romance writer persona Bailey Seaborn to break down Making Spirits Bright , the 2.5 novella in the All or Nothing universe. Expect: * FULL SPOILERS from not only this novella, but also Peppermint Bark , All Twerk No Play , and early glimpses of Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Playwright * An exhausted COO with a fixer complex who desperatel...

Heated Rivalry has arrived, and the FDSM household is officially in its Hockey Butt Era! Andrea Jones joins Nikki & Meg to dive into the first two episodes of the MM hockey romance adaptation turning the internet into a collective thirst trap. They break down: * Why the timeline jumps feel like surprise math homework * Shane’s micro-expressions, panic spirals, and inability to say “dildo” * Ilya a...

Here in the FDSM universe Thanksgiving means one thing: sentient food erotica. This year, Meg drags Nikki into Pounded by Produce: A Veggie Love Tale; a story about two hot Catholic priests, one trauma-baking heroine, and a harvest moon miracle that turns everyone into fruits and vegetables. There’s theology, there’s tomato juice, and there are questions no seminary could prepare you for. We break...

In this unhinged crossover episode, Meg & Nikki are joined by Onley James and Shannon Ezzell, hosts of the Feral Fandoms podcast to discuss psychopaths in romance, the parasocial relationships that fuel our favourite ships, and the appeal of morally gray characters who definitely need therapy (but we’d still risk it all for). Tune in for: * Why psychopaths in romance work only when they’re written...

Meg and Nikki continue their Friends to Lovers deep dive with a pop culture gem, Always Be My Maybe . They unpack why this Netflix hit (starring Ali Wong and Randall Park) captures what we love most about the trope: long history, missed timing, emotional safety, and that perfect balance between comedy and yearning. Plus, a Keanu Reeves cameo that is the ultimate rom-com chaos agent. Books & Media...

Meg and Nikki kick off “Friendsgiving” by dissecting one of the most comforting and chaotic romance tropes of all time: Friends to Lovers. They explore: * Why it hits us right in the feelings: the safety, the yearning, the tension, the why did it take them this long?! * What makes this trope work in both books and TV (Monica and Chandler to When Harry Met Sally) * Why timing, not tension, often dr...

In this flannel-wrapped fall special, Nikki and Meg celebrate cozy season with a “fun house” of games, quizzes, and chaos. Expect haunted hayrides, wraparound porches, ghost-hunting funeral directors, and the eternal sanctity of The Great British Bake Off. Want to know your romance archetype? Take our brand-new “What’s Your Romance Trope?” quiz at firstdatesandsoulmates.com/quiz ! In true Cosmo gi...

Nikki and Meg sink their teeth into Scared Sexy , Amazon’s spooky Kindle Unlimited novella six-pack featuring some of the biggest names in romance. See the whole series here (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/4ow3WqW Featured Authors: * Ali Hazelwood (Hot for Slayer): https://amzn.to/3L1aGyH * Christina Lauren (Falling): https://amzn.to/4hkBzK5 * JT Geissinger (Spicy Little Curses): https://amzn.to...

This week Nikki and Meg sink their teeth into monster romance with Lily Mayne’s Soul Eater. From morally questionable demons to why readers love inhuman partners, they break down the archetypes of monster romance and how non-human appendages make things… complicated. This is spooky-season romance at its finest: messy, dark, but surprisingly tender. This week they’re talking: * The appeal of monste...

Nikki and Meg slip into slouchy cardigans (and maybe a little gold lamé) to dive into Practical Magic (1998) to unpack whether this is a romance, a feminist vibes movie, or just a witchy autumn aesthetic. Spoiler: it’s definitely the vibes. Tune in for: * The curse that doesn’t really matter * Sisterhood vs. romance — what the movie gets right (and wrong) * Nicole Kidman as a secret comedic genius...

October starts with a bite as Nikki and Meg dive fang-first into the many flavours of vampire romance. From broody immortals to leather-pants predators, they trace the evolution of the undead in pop culture and argue over who deserves to be booped on the nose. What you’ll hear: * Sparkly vampires that aged like milk (sorry, Edward) * Why Alexander Skarsgård should never own pants that aren’t leath...

Back-to-School September ends on the ice with Elle Kennedy’s The Deal and Him (co-written with Sarina Bowen). Nikki and Meg dig into why these two 2015 hockey romances are still topping charts nearly a decade later, comparing fake dating vs. best-friends-to-lovers, college vs. new adult vibes, and what made both books blueprint-level sports romances. Listen in for: * Garrett Graham: the original “...

What happens when you take Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, add soccer, boarding school hijinks, and early-2000s Amanda Bynes? You get She’s the Man! In this episode, Nikki and Meg break down the comedy, chaos, and charm that make this rom-com still hold up nearly 20 years later (at least for Nikki!) Listen in for: * The Top 5 reasons Nikki thinks She’s the Man works as a Shakespeare retelling * Why t...

In this episode, Nikki and Meg sit down with author M.A. Wardell (of the Teachers in Love series) along with guest host Andréa Jones (aka author Olivia Carter) to talk about why teacher romances never go out of style. From the messy, cozy dynamics of faculty lounges to the importance of mental health and Jewish representation in romance, Wardell shares what makes his characters so memorable. Liste...

In their 69th episode (OH 69!), Nikki and Meg tackle a trope that’s as controversial as it is compelling: professor/student romance. Once labeled a hard “no” for Nikki, this trope has crept into her “read and liked” pile in ways that can be confusing. This episode covers: * Why these stories can feel squicky, and when they work * Why POV can impact the…ROI… of the story * the difference between co...

Nikki and Meg head into the 1950s for a double feature of classic romantic comedies: Roman Holiday and The Prince and the Showgirl. They discuss: * Audrey Hepburn’s strength in restraint vs. Marilyn Monroe’s comedic weaponization of sex appeal * How both films use physical space and quiet space to build (or block) intimacy and restraint * The role of glamor, class, and discomfort in shaping romant...

Nikki and Meg sit down with bestselling author Eden Finley to talk all things generational romance, character crossovers, and the chaos of collaborative writing. From her Fake Boyfriend series to Puckboy, Eden shares how she builds interconnected worlds where the HEAs don’t stop with one couple but they span generations. Listen in as they discuss: * Why gay hockey is such a reliable niche * Keepin...

This week, Nikki takes over with her Gay Little Book Club, a roundup of recent M/M romance reads featuring everything from pierced men with large…attributes… to nerdy Caltech grads getting dating lessons from hot bros. In this episode: * Bull’s Boy by Kiki Clark: daddy/boy dynamics, size difference, dirty talk, and a surprising amount of genuine tenderness * The Allure of Ruins by Mary Calmes: bos...

Meg dug into the weird world of romance search terms, using real SEO data to see what readers are actually Googling and what that means for the stories we love (and maybe secretly judge). In this episode: * What is “sex pollen” and why does it come up in so many search results? * The internet’s quiet obsession with “touch her and die” vs. “who did this to you” * How SEO influenced the renaming of...