Love Letters

Ayesha Mattu was supposed to marry a man whose background mirrored hers: Pakistani, Muslim, and from a certain caste. For a time, that was the plan. Then, one night in a dimly lit club, she saw a cute guy dancing. And thus their adventure began. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the pandemic hit, Iz was a junior in college with a vibrant social and academic life. They also had a serious partner, with whom they’d been in a monogamous relationship. COVID turned all of that upside down. So Iz decided to try something radical: to forego app dating and look for love IRL. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just about everybody in a long-term partnership worries they’re not having the right amount of sex. It’s easy to wonder: What is “normal?” For Katie and her husband, this became a central question in their marriage – until she realized she should just stop asking. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ian Coss talks about the legacy of divorce in his family, he’s not kidding. Everybody split up -- parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, multiple aunts and uncles. So when Ian fell in love himself, understanding these broken commitments became his way of avoiding the same fate. Plus, writer and podcaster Christina Tucker on whether universal rules even exist in love and dating. Email us a...

Naomi and Chandler didn’t know each other before deploying to the same air base in Afghanistan. But they had much in common — they both came from big families and small towns, and neither was looking for love. They also knew the military frowned upon relationships on base. And yet… Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 6! Our theme for this season is “Breaking the Rules.” It’s all about people who went against the grain, challenged convention, or ignored those relationship myths and tropes we’ve all heard. In the first episode, Meredith tells the story of fellow journalist Kimberly Atkins Stohr, who made an unexpected choice upon getting married. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more a...

Meredith talks to fellow advice columnist John Paul Brammer on the occasion of his new book, “Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons.” Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meredith has a glass of frosé with Erin, whose dating journey Love Letters chronicled in Season 2. Erin gives an update on her love life, shares what changed for her during the pandemic, and admits to crushing on a guy in a cemetery. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final episode of the season, Meredith turns hosting duties over to her sister, Brette. And for an important reason: It’s finally time for Meredith to share her own story -- her own new beginning. It’s a story about saying “yes” when that feels right, and about the growth that comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad c...

Knowing whether your partner is "the one" can be hard. Especially when you meet earlier in life. It’s tough to know who is truly here to stay, and who may just be right for the moment. That was true for Monica, who fell for a guy in college and then wasn’t so sure. Hers is a story about multiple new beginnings, and about the importance of getting to know yourself before going all in on someone els...

Many of us have clear expectations for our romantic lives. We envision a certain kind of partner, a certain kind of relationship. But Nicole found her new beginning after giving herself permission to change course. The end result? She’s built a life she never imagined for herself. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trenni used to pity the “boyfriend people” -- women she knew whose lives seemed to revolve around a guy. She valued her independence and wore it like a badge of honor. Then, a chance encounter on the street led her to a life-changing discovery. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a step-parent enters the picture, it can be an especially fraught new beginning -- for everyone involved. Stacie discovered this after she and Tim decided to make a life together. Tim came with two kids; Stacie had none. Nor did she have any idea -- at first, anyway -- what it meant to be a step-mom. Plus, Meredith and her sister, Brette, sing Mary Poppins. Sort of. Email us at loveletters@bo...

It’s hard to not worry about the future. We all want to know how things are going to work out. For Meighan, her romantic path seemed clear. Until … it didn’t. That’s when she learned to let go of tomorrow and just live for today. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Letitia needed inspiration for her new beginning, she found it in the most natural place: from her mother, who showed Letitia how to keep her heart open to new love. Even when it seemed so overwhelming. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A vow renewal is a special breed of new beginning. It’s not just a restatement of original promises; it’s about a couple reaffirming their love and mutual commitment after years of lived experience. Which is exactly why Cindy Brown and Sharon McMahon chose to do it again and again. Plus, Meredith drops in on a (virtual) mass vow renewal ceremony organized by her alma mater, Syracuse University. Em...

When Paola Bayron first noticed the cute guy at work, she already had a boyfriend. Over the next four years, as she and her colleague began and ended other relationships, the two of them cycled through periods of flirting, talking, not talking, and avoiding each other altogether. Until one day, when they couldn’t avoid each other any longer. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about you...

All this season, hear stories of new beginnings, resets, do-overs, and fresh chapters. In the first episode, Meredith shares the story of Kristina Libby and Tim Cahill, a New York couple who -- despite all the horribleness of the past year -- still managed to find each other. Then they grew closer through a modern-day Victorian courtship, finding sexiness in restraint and boundaries. Email us at l...

(In collaboration with and presented by the Boston Pops) Do good artistic partners make good romantic ones? In this special bonus episode, dancers Mia Dalglish and Jun Kuribayashi share their story of marriage, tango, and one very important full moon. Also, Meredith talks to Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart about what it takes to be a good collaborator -- in music and in life. Have a story to...

In this special live episode taping, Meredith is joined by her sister, Brette, and Elizabeth Segran, a journalist and author of the book "The Rocket Years." Their wide-ranging conversation dwells on love lessons at different ages, and how one's perceptions of potential partners evolves over time. Have a story you'd like to share? Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices...

Paul’s story is straight out of a rom-com. After his first marriage fell apart, he gave up on love. Then a woman walked into his life, and, well, she changed his mind. That was more than 30 years ago. Through sickness, health, and many tears along the way, Paul and his wife learned the secret to a successful partnership: You just keep showing up. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more abou...

On today’s episode, three writers -- Alondra Bobadilla, Asiyah Herrera, and Meredith Russo -- talk about the relationship between art and love, and how they use their creative work to explore ideas about dating, courtship, belonging, and commitment. All of them, in their own way, understand love and life by writing it. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

The thing about love is, we never stop learning. That’s a good thing. We’re supposed to be ever-evolving creatures, always working to be better. After three long-term relationships, Claire knows this as well as anyone. This is her story: three loves, many lessons. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do expectations for love affect what we seek, and how we define relationship success? Sarah Huckman had grand expectations for her romantic life heading into college. Then she got there and it wasn’t quite what she’d imagined. Also, Meredith’s sister, Brette, joins the show to share the most important relationships lessons she’s learned. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about you...

How do you get through the hardest moments as a couple? By building a strong foundation. Writer and actress Marianne Leone Cooper reflects on her life with actor Chris Cooper, and how the two of them supported and complemented one other when it mattered most. Email us at loveletters@boston.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices