Love Letters

Meredith is joined by two of her favorite Boston Globe colleagues, business reporters Diti Kohli and Dana Gerber, to chat about two things that have long bothered her: the way lease cycles influence relationships, and the financial gap between coupled people and single people. Plus, they discuss a pair of letters, including one from a single person who is worried their married friends are growing...

A portrait of two daters in their 20s — Jackie in Chicago, and Nick in Washington. Both of them have been on lots of dates; Nick went on 46 last year alone. When you date this much, the expenses add up quickly: drinks, food, hair, parking, Ubers, clothes, and more. So how do they do it? What happens when the bill comes — who pays? And is it all worth it? Email us at loveletters@boston.com. *Progra...

A story about partnership and compromise, told in two acts. Two working spouses — writer Kara Baskin and psychologist Sadé Soares — talk about how they and their partners have navigated money, ambition, career, and sacrifice. How do people combine finances and lives and priorities without losing out or getting resentful? Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

No matter how much you might click with a potential partner, there will always be something you don’t quite see eye-to-eye on. Maybe it's religion. Maybe it’s kids. Sometimes? It’s money. In Vicki's case, she and her girlfriend, Jessica, seemed to be a good match — if they could just get past that one thing. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Meredith’s childhood friend Justin L. Wilson was standing at a funeral, listening to a eulogy, when he had an epiphany: I’m going to quit my job. This decision to follow his passion took Justin on a journey that involves falling in love. Breakups. Martin Scorsese. Hall & Oates. The Kelly Clarkson Show. And a lesson – very much still-in-progress – about the price of a dream. Email us at loveletters...

A special visit from our friends at NPR’s Dear Life Kit podcast, where experts answer your most pressing and personal anonymous questions. In this bonus episode: A letter writer loves her boyfriend's parents, but their generosity feels inappropriate. Maya Lau, host of the podcast Other People's Pockets, weighs in on how to move forward. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad...

Meredith and her sister, Brette, take on two letters, including one from a writer who’s happily coupled but still thinking about an ex. Not because the ex was so great, or because there’s any desire to get back together. It’s purely because he came from family money and offered the prospect of financial stability. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

As a 20-something, Alex was determined to “win” at adulthood. And they did. They got a job, responsibly grew their savings, even bought a house. And then Alex met Tim, a kind and smart man who shared their passions, hobbies, and values. But a few years into their marriage, Alex discovered that Tim was carrying a pretty big secret – one that would jeopardize their hard-earned sense of security. Ema...

On Season 8 of Love Letters, host Meredith Goldstein explores all the ways money plays into love, dating, and relationships. What happens when two partners come from different wealth backgrounds? What if someone is harboring secret debt? Who should pay for drinks on a first date? How do couples decide whose “turn” it is to pursue a career dream? Season 8 launches April 25. Email us at loveletters@...

Money is a hard thing to talk about – especially when there’s a partner involved. So, before we kick off a full season of stories about love and money, Meredith felt it was only fair that she open up a little herself. In this special bonus episode, she and her longtime financial advisor share some real talk about her finances, paying for psychics, stashing money in the freezer, and the baggage fro...

Look, money is a hard thing to talk about -- especially in relationships. But it plays into so many of our decisions. For the next season of Love Letters, we're looking for stories about money in love and dating. How do you tell a serious partner about your student loan debt? What happens when two people come from different wealth backgrounds? Why are breakups so expensive? If you have a story to...

After years of being told she wasn’t enough – good enough, smart enough, pretty enough – Tooky Kavanagh discovered that, yeah, actually, she was enough. This revelation came in the unlikeliest of places: the basement of a burger place, at a comedy open mic night. For the first time, Tooky could see who she was supposed to be. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Finding and sustaining love takes real work. It takes intention. But we never know when life is going to throw someone important in front of us. Then we’re forced to confront a big question: Is my heart open to love, or is it not? The story of Roz and Ralph is all about that: being open — remaining open — across six decades, multiple states, one bowl of pea soup, and a whole lot of letters. Email...

Meredith quizzes her sister, Brette, on the latest terms of art in dating and relationships. Plus, they discuss a letter from someone who's all worked up after seeing an old flame at Thanksgiving. Email your dating and relationship questions to loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pebbles is a well-known morning radio show host in the Boston area. Being happily single has long been part of her brand. But her story – how she came to understand her priorities and know her own heart – is far richer than most people realize. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a reason Meredith and her friend Kumar hit it off when they first met. Well, two reasons. One, they’re both obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Plus, they both operate with expansive definitions of love, commitment, and partnership. That’s why, when Kumar was going through a major change in his life, Meredith knew just what it felt like. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more a...

Ever since he was young, Jared believed he had to choose between being gay and being Muslim. Because everyone around him was telling him he couldn’t be both. This impossible choice tore Jared apart, up until the day he met a kind, blue-eyed stranger on a park bench. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ana’s first impression of Paris wasn’t very good. First of all, she was from Mexico. So she didn’t know a lick of French. She also hated the food. But she returned 10 years later and fell in love with the city – and with a tall Frenchman who had kind eyes. This storybook romance came with a cost, though. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Meredith and producer Katelyn Harrop take up two letters to Meredith's Love Letters advice column. In the first letter, a man wonders if he should send that closure email he's got all cued up. In the second, a writer asks if she should have worked harder to fix a former relationship. Email your dating and relationship questions to loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Mel and Jay met way back in seventh-grade social studies class. Then in high school, they co-led the Gay Straight Alliance. Mel was straight; Jay was gay. In the years that followed, their love and connection remained durable, even as their relationship took many different forms. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, Somerville, Massachusetts became the first municipality in the country allowing polyamorous relationships to qualify for domestic partnership status. Meredith talks to one of the first people to register for the new designation. They discuss what it means – and what it doesn’t. Meredith also talks to a legal expert about the broader social and legal implications of the Somerville ordinanc...

Love Letters producer Katelyn Harrop just saw "When Harry Met Sally" for the first time, which leaves Meredith (a WHMS superfan) with one burning question: Has it aged well? They discuss in this Sidebar mini-episode. Email your dating and relationship questions to loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michaela always craved the kind of life she didn’t have as a kid. She’d find a stable guy, settle down, and start a family. For several years, she seemed to be on her way. But then she discovered that, no matter how clear that original path may have seemed, she ultimately had to build her own. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meredith and producer Katelyn Harrop take on two new letters, including one from a woman in her 40s who digs her new boyfriend but wasn't thrilled to learn that he'd previously hooked up with most of the women in his friend group. Is this a red flag, or just ancient history? Email your dating and relationship questions to loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

All this season, we’ll be telling stories of big changes and how they reshape people’s romantic lives. In the first episode, Meredith shares the story of Bill and Jen, who did that thing many people fantasize about: They quit their day jobs and built a business from scratch. What has this shift meant for their lives – and for their marriage? Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about you...