Love Letters

Join our Friends With Benefits club for an ad-free experience, a monthly bonus episode, and more. For details, visit Globe.com/loveletters/friendswithbenefits. In this episode, we meet Lyla, a recent high school graduate who tells a story about being dumped by a college-bound senior when she was a junior. It was a devastating breakup. It was also messy. A year later, it’s also a bit funny. The tru...

Hey everybody, it's Meredith. I'm here with a big announcement. We are starting a club. We are calling it Friends with Benefits. We're doing this for two reasons. One is for connection. Two is for bonus episodes and perks. If you join our FWB club, you’ll get an ad-free experience and an extra episode a month. If you sign up for a year, you get that ad-free experience and extra episode at an 18 pe...

She directed and co-stars in “The Invite,” a film about two couples who have a fairly monumental, impromptu dinner. It’s a comedy that turns into a drama … and then back to a comedy. It also stars Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton. Meredith saw “The Invite” and thought, "Oh, this should be part of a Love Letters Film Festival, if we ever had one." Today Meredith is joined by Olivia for...

Jujubee, the boisterous drag queen and fan favorite on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” is the alter-ego of Airline Inthyrath, a relatively introverted homebody from Massachusetts. In this episode, Airline tells us a story about a recent relationship – and the lessons that came with it. In short: sometimes it’s difficult to be present. Other times it’s hard to know when to stop that relationship train. Learn...

Welcome to summer wedding season. To celebrate, Meredith interviews Ruhama Wolle, the author of “I Hope You Elope: A Bridesmaid Survival Guide.”Ruhama says too may people say “yes” to being a bridesmaid before they understand the job. This is why weddings can turn friends against one another. Join Meredith and Ruhama for a discussion about wedding costs (financial and emotional), alternatives to t...

When Jordan was young, he saw actress Janeane Garofalo on television. Since then, he’s had a type: smart, creative, sardonic, sarcastic, brunette, glasses-wearing women. Not a bad thing … or is it limiting? What does it mean when we have a type? If our type doesn’t like us back, do we have to expand our parameters when looking for love? Take a journey with Meredith and Jordan through an exploratio...

In February, Meredith unveiled a Love Letters Tell-A-Booth at The Boston Public Library. More than 1,000 calls have come in already … mostly from locals – and many tourists – who stop in, enter the booth, and leave a question on an old-school payphone. What can we learn from an anonymous phone booth where people can ask anything? Meredith explains by sharing messages from the booth, and by process...

Really? What’s up with that? Simone, a single mom in her 40s, wrote to the Love Letters advice column asking, “Why don’t men on dating apps ask me any questions?” Simone said these men are happy to answer questions about themselves, but they don’t ask anything in return. That means Simone has to do so much work to keep the conversation going. Simone tells her story to Meredith, who also gets feedb...

Meredith talks to former Love Letters guest Margaret H. Willison about “Adult Braces,” a new memoir by feminist writer Lindy West that has sparked big debate about West’s polyamorous relationship. West – who also wrote “Shrill” (which became a Hulu show) – says in this new book that she didn’t want to be in a non-monogamous relationship … but is now happy being one of three. But some readers/fans...

We get a big update from Nicole, a guest who once explained an era of her life when she took a zillion classes – and signed up for countless activities (dragon boat racing, included) – to try to meet a boyfriend.  Where is Nicole now? She tells us all about life after those classes, and why she wishes she could take more of them now. Join Meredith and Nicole for a sweet update about getting what y...

Yowei Shaw, host of the podcast “Proxy” – and former host of NPR’s “Invisibilia” – joins Love Letters to tell a story about the time she was embarrassed of her partner … because he’s a man. This is Part 2 of our two-part series inspired by a viral Vogue essay that suggested women are now embarrassed about having male partners. Yowei’s story is a nuanced one. From the outside it might have seemed l...

Last fall, Chanté Joseph wrote an essay with the headline: “Is it embarrassing to have a boyfriend now?” The piece – about the politics of showing off heterosexual relationships – went viral; people debated it all over TikTok and beyond. (Even New York City’s mayor weighed in.)Months later, Meredith and Chanté sit down to discuss why the essay hit so many nerves at once. Some readers hated Chanté'...

Meredith has long been interested in the Kinsey Institute, a place were researchers focus their work on sex and relationships. In this episode, Meredith interviews Kinsey Executive Director Justin Garcia about his new book, “The Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why We Live and Die for Love.”Meredith read the book in one sitting. Her conversation with Justin covers many topics inc...

Third wheeling has long had a bad reputation. If you’re a single person, you may have heard that hanging out with a couple makes you the odd person out. But Meredith doesn’t believe that. She LOVES third wheels – and has third wheeled with plenty of couples. In this episode, Meredith’s sister, Brette, explains how her social life, as a newly divorced person, involves hanging out with a bunch of wo...

Must you block your ex on social media? Maybe. Probably. It could make your breakup a lot easier to deal with. In this episode, Meredith talks to Love Letters podcast producer Jazmin Aguilera about Jazmin’s recent breakup. They listen to a classic episode about exes and social media, and talk about what lessons ring true in 2026.Enjoy a discussion about letting go in person and online. Remember, L...

We’re looking for your stories for the Love Letters podcast. We love all tales of breakups, dating, love, and connection. But for a special upcoming series of the show, we’re looking for stories about COMMUNITY. We want to hear about friends, special acquaintances, or the seemingly inconsequential human ties that make your life better. We want to hear about important, platonic bonds you currently...

Meredith has always been a little afraid of Nantucket. Despite living a fast ferry ride away, she’s only been there twice. As far as Meredith is concerned, the people on Nantucket are fancy, the drama is high, and because it’s an island, it’s hard to escape. For best-selling author Elin Hiderbrand, though, Nantucket represents comfort … even when it’s stifling. Nantucket is where Elin found happin...

Elise, 17, appreciates that she’s growing up in a world that understands what it means to be nonbinary. She just wishes people had an easier time understanding fluidity. Because sometimes Elise feels like a boy, and other times she feels like a girl. Sometimes these changes shift with the seasons. In this episode, Elise explains how her fluidity affects her dating life – because some people who fa...

Nexan Asencio Corado was 20 when he left Guatemala and crossed into the U.S. illegally. He wound up settling in Massachusetts and built a life there. Within a decade, he was working in construction and framing. He fell in love with Christina Toledo and married her. They had two twin sons.  In May, Nexan – who had started the process of seeking lawful permanent residency in the U.S. – was arrested...

Jenna is a part-time model.  Sometimes her modeling jobs are unique – think wearing stilettos and popping balloons... or wearing lingerie while feeding ducks. Recently, she's been getting paid to play a damsel in distress. With cars. How does Jenna’s modeling work affect her dating life? It’s not easy. Some people act like they’re comfortable with her job at first - but then they turn out to be ju...

Situationships. Are they all bad. Can you have a meaningful, hopeful, life-changing … situationship? In this episode, Meredith talks to Nicole, a woman who has come full circle on situationships after many years of resenting them. She’s wanted a permanent partner, but maybe situationships aren’t so bad in the meantime. Meredith also has a conversation with word expert Amanda Montell, of the podcas...

This time of year is a little unsexy and unromantic to Love Letters host Meredith Goldstein. Why? She doesn't like sports. In the fall, there are so many sports. Football, hockey, and basketball – not to mention that baseball can extend into early November. On this episode, Meredith tries to rally for sports and seeks out new, romantic entry points into fandom. She gets help from two funny experts...

Akela Cooper knows dating can be scary. Cooper, a screenwriter known for “M3GAN,” sits down with Meredith to talk about the horror of vulnerability – and opening yourself up to love. Enjoy this episode filled with pop culture references, advice, and thoughts about how sometimes it’s difficult to know whether you’re in a horror story … or just a bad romantic comedy. ___ Do you have a story Send you...

Rory Uphold was in a literal haunted house when she realized her date for the night... might be the real monster. Is she just a "final girl" in love? ___ Do you have a story Send your question about your relationships (romance, friendship, family, etc.) to loveletters@boston.com.  Sign up for Meredith’s newsletter – with behind-the-scenes pics, giveaways, and other extras – at boston.com/meredith ...

Moving is STRESSFUL and movers... are sometimes de facto relationship experts. They literally see people’s personal lives packed into boxes - from couples moving in together for the first time to the breakdown of long term marriages. They help people through their most stressful moments! After all, most big life changes require moving from one place to another... In this new episode about love and...