Love Lives

This week Olivia is joined by author and journalist Lisa Taddeo and senior therapist Sally Baker to discuss sexual grooming and manipulation. The conversation focuses on Lisa's bestselling book, Three Women, which examined the sex and relationship lives of three very different American women, one of whom, Maggie, was exploited by her high school teacher. What was it about that relationship that be...

The broadcaster and former Hear'Say member talks to Olivia about blending her family with her partner's, Simon Motson. Both Myleene and Simon have two children from previous relationships, which Klass explains posed some complications early on that they were able to overcome. Myleene opens up about what it's like to discipline children when they aren't your own and finding ways to be a good step m...

Reality TV stars Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams join Olivia in the studio to discuss sharing the ins and outs of their family life with the public eye.  The couple talk about why they choose to share so much with their fans on social media and TV and Spencer explains why he doesn’t ‘get’ social media influencers despite the fact that is what Vogue does. Spencer also opens up about his Ma...

Activist and writer Munroe Bergdorf joins Olivia in the studio to discuss her experiences of coming out as a trans woman and offers some valuable advice to people in the LGBT+ community. Munroe also addresses the problematic concept of gender reveal parties, in which expecting parents share the biological sex of their unborn child with friends and family members. Stay updated with all things Mille...

Millennial Love is coming back! The Independent’s podcast all about relationships, sexuality and dating is returning on Friday with a brand new look and feel. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/millenniallove . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's our series finale! To celebrate the end of season one of Millennial Love, we've decided to take a look back at all our past episodes and think back at what we've learned over the past year or so. Thank you to everyone who's supported Millennial Love so far and stay tuned for what happens next! Follow us on Instagram here: @rachel_hosie , @oliviapetter8 and @millennial_love . Support this show...

Happy Sexual Health Week, everyone! What a time to be alive. In all seriousness though, being sexually healthy is incredibly important, and that's why we figured a podcast on the topic was long overdue. From the different types of sexually transmitted infections and how you contract one, to how to get tested and what we can do to break down the stigma of having one - let's talk about sex(ual healt...

Whether you’re more into them or they're more into you, whether you’ve been seeing someone for a few weeks or have been together for years, knowing when to walk away from a relationship is incredibly difficult. What if you end things then regret it? But what if you wait, eventually cut things off and then wish you’d done it earlier? It’s never easy. This week on Millennial Love, we offer advice on...

What constitutes a relationship fail? A break-up? Treating someone badly? Cheating on your partner? This week on Millennial Love we're joined by the brilliant journalist, author and fellow podcaster Elizabeth Day to discuss why it's important to fail at relationships, and we share our own tales. After all, if you learn something about yourself, is there even such a thing as a fail at all? Follow u...

It's our 50th episode! We can hardly believe it. What fun it's been. To celebrate, this week we're talking about being single - perpetually so. Why is there such a stigma? Being single is great, and never having had a long-term relationship doesn't mean there's something wrong with you. As two longtime singletons, we're done with being made to feel bad for not having partners. Join us! Follow us o...

In this week's episode of Millennial Love we're joined by the authors of the brilliant book 'Slay In Your Lane', Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené, to discuss how racism operates in the contemporary landscape of dating and relationships. Yomi and Elizabeth share their own experiences of dating as black women and we discuss the problem with fetishising ethnicities online and beyond. Follow us o...

Contrary to what popular culture would have us believe, having a crush is not limited to our teenage years: it's exciting, it's annoying and it very much still happens as an adult. This week on Millennial Love, Rachel and Olivia are joined by comedian, TV presenter and podcaster James Barr to discuss our crushes past and present (both human and of the plant variety). How can you tell someone has a...

This week on Millennial Love we're joined by the brilliant young poet, producer and mental health ambassador Charly Cox to try to get to the bottom of why we let the people we like treat us like rubbish. From emotional abuse to simply not replying to messages, we're all guilty of putting up with poor behaviour from someone we fancy even though we know we deserve much better. So why are we like thi...

Summer lovin' eh? Sure, it can be a blast. And it always happens pretty fast too. But for most of us, holiday romances don't play out as rom-coms - from Grease to The Lizzie McGuire Movie - would have us believe. (We're still waiting to go to Rome, meet our international pop-star doppelgängers and fall in love with an Italian who'll drive us around on a Vespa). This week, we're joined by TV and ra...

Today on Millennial Love we're delving into the murky waters of class and, specifically, the role it plays in dating. Joining us in our discussion is the brilliant journalist and author Sophia Money-Coutts, who spent five years studying the British aristocracy while working as Features Director at society magazine, Tatler. We discuss the concept of 'marrying up' (or down), the problematic nature o...

This week on Millennial Love we're joined by writer and activist Scarlett Curtis to discuss the taboo around female masturbation. Scarlett recently launched a campaign called #girlswanktoo which seeks to demystify female masturbation. Why is it a gendered issue? Why is it important? And what can we do to break the stigma around it? We dive deep into all of this and more in this week's episode. Fol...

As Rachel and Olivia harp on about every week, dating in your 20s is no walk in the park. But add a baby into the mix, and things get a lot more complicated. This week we’re joined by Amy Nickell, author of Confessions of a Single Mum , to debunk the most common misconceptions around life as a young single mother on the dating scene today. Follow us on Instagram to stay up-to-date! https://www.ins...

Love Island has become a national talking point, but the hit reality series remains shrouded in mystery, leaving eager viewers wondering what really goes on behind the scenes in the Mallorcan villa. Do the women get bikini waxes? What's the audition process like? How much are contestants allowed to drink? This week, we're joined by former contestant Montana Brown, who speaks candidly about her tim...

"You'll find someone when you stop looking," the cliché goes. But is this piece of highly unhelpful advice really true? Should we be proactive when looking for love or simply leave it up to destiny? This week, we're joined by TV presenter and radio DJ Roman Kemp who shares the rather fateful story of how he met his girlfriend. Roman, Rachel and Livi also share their top tips for finding love. We'v...

Whilst there's no one-size-fits-all approach to first dates - Rachel loves activities like crazy golf whereas Livi is more of an exhibition kind of girl - there are certain factors that make a first date more likely to be a winner. This week on Millennial Love, we're discussing the best first dates we've ever been on and what made them so great. Similarly, we also reveal the worst first dates we'v...

The disposable culture of dating apps has made the idea of no-strings casual sex seem more prevalent and popular than ever before. But is it ever wise to be intimate with someone who you have no plans of developing a long-term relationship with? Is it even possible? What happens if one person “catches feels”? This week on Millennial Love we’re joined by writer, comedian and social media influencer...

Every aspect of life feels more fast-paced than ever today, and one of the areas in which this is most apparent is, of course, dating and relationships. This week on Millennial Love we’re joined by the brilliant author of ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ and ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ Matt Haig to talk about how the state of the world today has affected our love lives. We’re more connected than ever, so w...

Everyone's favourite summer reality series is back. There's been grafting, cracking on and plenty of muggy, melty behaviour. This week, Rachel and Livi are diving deep into the world of Love Island and the mirror up to society it holds. How much of what we see reflects real-life dating? As much as we enjoy the show, there are issues around it: why is there no body diversity and does it send a dang...

This week on Millennial Love we're joined by social media influencer and podcaster Oenone Forbat to discuss the many issues surrounding contraception and specifically whether it's inherently sexist. Whose responsibility should it be to ensure sex is safe? If there was a male pill, would women really trust men to take it given we're the ones who would still get pregnant? We also discuss the differe...

Did you know nearly half of Brits (46%) have unconscious issues with commitment? Whether you're single or in a relationship, fear of commitment is very common, as Rachel in particular knows all too well. This week on Millennial Love we reveal our own experiences with commitment-phobia, ponder whether the rise of dating apps is making the problem worse and suggest techniques for overcoming your fea...