Has True Love Officially Carked It?

Forgive me while I fixate for a bit longer on keeping relationships alive. I was ready to let it go after last week’s column, but then Seal and Heidi dropped their bombshell on us all, leaving us with the fallout – true love has been obliterated to smithereens all around us.

Everywhere you look, people [...]

If Your Days Really Were Numbered…

Forget the apocalypse, if we keep modelling our relationships on celebrity marriages and chasing sky-high Hollywood rom-com expectations, we’re all doomed.

How to: Support your partner when they’re stressed

It’s moving week. I told you all about it a few weeks ago – how I was expecting to be tired, at my wit’s end and neck deep in boxes by now.
Well, I’m all that.
And to add to the fun, all the expected relationship stress has peaked this week as well.
So now [...]

Weddings & Princesses

Weddings and princesses. Diehard fans of both these things know they have something in common.
Both give us hope.
Hope that there’s something magical going on out there. That fairytales really do exist. And that true love is real.
Let’s start with princesses. So rare, kids can be forgiven for thinking they’re make-believe.
When I [...]

He Loves Me? He Loves Me Not? Why Women are Suckers for Mixed Messages

It’s official: Women have a thing for Mr. Mysterious.

To be exact, women like a man more if they’re unsure about whether he’s interested in them or not. They thrive on it, in fact.
A recent study, titled “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not…” and using only women as the test subjects, [...]

The Sad Truth About Online PDAs

We got hot ‘n’ heavy last week talking about the etiquette involved in Public Displays of Affection (PDA).
Like everything else, the PDA has adapted with our tech-savvy world and what we now also have is the original PDA’s pixellated cousin – the ODA (Online Display of Affection).
Listing status updates like “I love my pumpkin pie” [...]

The Dos and Don’ts of PDAs

We’ve all been there. Smack-bang in the middle of a sensational make out session that we’re not actually a part of.
Out at a bar recently, my table was treated to some free entertainment courtesy of a young couple pressed against the wall next to us.
They weren’t just kissing.

They were engaged in a no-holds-barred [...]

Supporting Your Partner Through Times of Stress

It’s moving week. I told you all about it a few weeks ago – how I was expecting to be tired, at my wit’s end and neck deep in boxes by now.
Well, I’m all that.
And to add to the fun, all the expected relationship stress has peaked this week as well.

So now [...]

How to Impress the Parents

“How soon is too soon to meet the parents?” someone asked the other day.
My friend E would probably argue that you should at least be dating the guy before you have to make that decision.
She turned up at a – ahem – friend’s house late one night for what was, by all accounts, [...]

Why You Should Try a Wingwoman

It’s happened more than once: Cocktails in hand, girly catch-up session in progress.
Enter stage left? An attractive girl on her own.
She breaks into the group with some sort of compliment – “Great shoes,” or “Love your hair.” – you welcome her into the fold and continue chatting.

Of course, she’s only there for [...]

The Walk of Shame

I don’t need to list the benefits here of all the fun involved in a one-night stand. Anyone that’s had the pleasure, so to speak, will know the lure of a no-strings-attached, one-show-only romp.
But, fun as the night can be, the problem comes with how to delicately extract yourself from the situation the next [...]

The Truth About Nice Guys

Baby fell for Johnny. Sandy pulled out all stops to get Danny. Lisa Simpson even had a thing for Nelson for awhile.
And we all remember when Carrie left Aidan for Big.

What is it about the casual air of the devil-may-care bad boy that sends women to jelly?
They’re arrogant, obnoxious, single-minded, manipulative and [...]

Are You a Relationship Chameleon?

Rewind my life seven years or so and you’d find an almost-unrecognisable girl.
I didn’t drink, as a rule (though rules are, and were in this case, made to be broken), and I practiced Reiki while I wore Birkenstocks and read non-mainstream, naval-gazing spiritual books about the afterlife.
I was probably a step or two away from [...]

Surviving Valentine’s Day for Singles

Just three short sleeps to the biggest date on any singleton’s calendar. Yep, Monday is Singles Awareness Day.

As it looms closer, I hear noises of discomfort from friends.

Most will assure you they hate Valentine’s Day – who wants the overpriced flowers, the forced niceties, et cetera?

As a couple, it’s not all that much fun all the time either.

Where Did All the Men Go?

This is an open letter to the eligible bachelors of Australia: Where did you all go?
There is a plethora of fantastic, smart, attractive single ladies here for you – some are great friends of mine – but you all seem to have collectively disappeared under a huge rock somewhere.

At least, that’s the message I’m getting [...]

What They Don’t Tell You About Summer Romances

Welcome back to reality, people. It’s been a sad, soggy summer for many, but even so, romance has been in the (rather humid) air for others.
Summer romances are beautiful things. When you’re on holiday, you’re a million metaphoric miles from your desk, from hounding emails and buzzing BlackBerries.
I’ve always dreamed of spending [...]

Do You Scare Potential Relationships Off?

I’m all for forthright and honest communication. That said, I think there’s also something to be said for playing cards close to your chest sometimes. At least for a little while.
Not so for a girl I know, L.
L is a genius at scaring people off right off the bat, on account of her [...]

Is Your Partner Snooping On You?

It’s a moment I’m not proud of: Rewind a few boyfriends back and I find myself standing in the lounge of our shared apartment as he’s taking a shower, frantically scrolling through text messages on his phone.
I feel terrible guilt at doing this… until I find exactly what I’m looking for. Very incriminating text [...]

mX Column: Couples Who Argue in Public

There are few things more uncomfortable than watching a couple air their domestic disputes in public.
Whether it’s tears on a street corner or all-out yelling in front of friends, no one wants to be the bystander in what is undoubtedly the messiest of all fights. Years of history and complicated emotions go into a couples’ [...]

mX Column: Do You Play Together Anymore?

It was Her Holiness, Carrie Bradshaw that first introduced the world to the concept of Secret Single Behaviour.
Those little rituals we all have in the privacy of our house – Charlotte would check her pores for an hour in a magnified mirror, while Carrie stacks grape jelly and crackers while reading Vogue and standing up [...]

mX Column: Tips for Travelling as a Couple

Travelling as a couple is one of those huge relationship challenges that can go either way.
Being taken out of your comfort zone, thrown into busy sightseeing and touring schedules and coupled together for 24 hours a day can be a revealing experience to say the least.
Obviously, we’re not talking about your standard “romantic-weekend-at-a-bed-and breakfast” kind [...]

mX Column: Is Love Costing You Your Friends?

A study has found that love comes at a price. The going rate? Two close friends.
On average, a person who finds themselves in a relationship will suddenly realise two of their nearest and dearest will suddenly become not so close and probably even disappear from their lives altogether.

The researchers looking into the study theorise [...]

mX Column: The Back-Up Guy

Over breakfast the other morning with a girlfriend, I was discussing The Back-Up Guy.
You know, the guy or girl who is always there lingering in the background of your relationship, the one you sometimes think about, wondering what life would be like if you’d ended up with them?

The one you could probably end up with [...]

mX Column: The First Date

The first date. The job interview of the dating world. You have but one chance at this.
Don’t. Stuff. It. Up.
The pressure is on to make a good first impression. You want the venue to speak volumes about your taste, it also needs to be classy without trying too hard.

My dear friend E was taken on [...]

mX Column: Innocent Flirtations?

I was at a cocktail party with my man the other week when I turned to see a very attractive, very leggy brunette launching herself at him (she was more than a little tipsy) and planting kisses on his face.
I don’t know what you would’ve done, but I laughed and turned back to my own [...]

mX Column: I Can’t Believe I Went Out With You

Just the other day, I just had one of the greatest moments of clarity available to a person who has had their heart broken.
Thank heavens for the internet. It allows us to virtually and remotely drop in on our exes and see what they’re up to.
From the safety of your computer screen, they [...]

mX Column: Clap if You Believe in Soulmates

One thing you should know about me is that I’m a hopeless romantic.
Roses, candles, love letters, chocolates… I’m a sucker for all the tacky clichés and I don’t care if it’s wrong. I don’t even want to be right.
When I was younger and more impressionable I also believed in soulmates.
That there was one person you [...]

mX Column: Can Men and Women Be ‘Just Friends’?

Can men and women ever really just be good friends?
Jealous girlfriends everywhere will tell you no, they can’t.
The media further fuels those insecure thoughts – there aren’t all that many prototype examples of what a cross-sex platonic friendship should look like. And too often, these on-screen friendships turn into Happily Ever After (Monica and Chandler, [...]

mX Column: Wooing Women Right

Are men running out of ideas for wooing women?
So far in dating evolution, we’ve seen a full gamut of techniques, from dragging cave women back to the cave, reading sonnets, wolf-whistling and tooting car horns, sleazy one-liners (“Is there a mirror in your pants?”) and, in most recent years, the insult.

“Negging” is the official name [...]

mX Column: Why is Food So Damn Sexy?

What is it about food that is just so damn sexy? Even the words we use to describe it are hot. Gooey, spicy, steamy food.
Food and love have been linked since… well, probably since the dawn of time.
I’m sure the most romantic thing a caveman could do for his cavewoman was bring home [...]

mX Column: The New Online Dating

Outsourcing is de rigueur in our technologically savvy world.
There are personal organisers, personal stylists and people to mow your lawn.

And now you can even outsource your dating life – or at least the more annoying aspects of it.
Online Dating consultants will, for a fee, do the hard work it takes you to [...]

mX Column: A Little Privacy

A friend of mine has taught her husband how to wax her pits for her. They are clearly a couple who are very comfortable with each other.
Me? I like to keep a bit of mystery going on in a relationship. Some things are best done behind closed doors.
Hell, I wouldn’t even reference my underarms in [...]

mX Column: Casual Sex? Not Always Casual.

In the age of the casual hook-up, I’d hazard to say most people have had a bonk-buddy up their sleeve at some point for times of need.
It’s a common belief that women, in particular, have difficulty adjusting adapting to a casual sex arrangement.
But it turns out that is not our biggest worry when it comes [...]

mX Column: The Etiquette of Dating

What has happened to manners?
It seems everyone is so busy these days that there is no time for niceties – returning emails, RSVPing to parties and even saying thank you have fallen by the wayside.
When it happens with friends, we can understand, kiss and make up.
In dating, however, bad manners are unforgivable.

I was out one [...]

mX Column: There Is No “Mostly Equal”

NB: This column has been altered slightly from it’s original publication as I have an infinite word count on this blog.

There are many things straight couples take for granted that gay couples have had to fight for.
And on Monday, Eliza Bern’s article in mX sparked even more conversation on the topic.
Bern suggested the [...]

mX Column: Virtually Together

I’m sitting on a plane to Sydney as I write, on my way to visit my bestie, V.
I don’t spend much time on planes these days, though V does.
He moved to Sydney for work a year ago, while his partner still lives and works in Melbourne.

They fly back and forth as often [...]

mX Column: Damn Smug Morning People

I hate morning people. They’re always so freakin’ smug. Me? I am, categorically, not a morning person.
I resent getting out of bed before 9am. It takes me hours to wake up properly and God help you if you try anything smart with me before I’ve had a coffee.
Nothing is more annoying than a chirpy early [...]

mX Column: What Mothers Teach Us About Love

Thank goodness for mothers and their unconditional, all-enveloping love.
I know my mum is the one person in this world who will pick up the phone every time I call, and she’ll be glad to hear from me to boot. I can also depend on her to be the first by my side if I’m unwell [...]

mX Column: The Sperm Shortage in Australia

Men once worried that advances in IVF and female independence would render them obsolete.
Of course there are lots of things women need men for but, biologically speaking, sex and babies are the main things.

But it turns out that women do still need men in the babies department.
Sperm donations are at an all-time [...]

mX Column: Office Romances are A-Ok

Ever found yourself exchanging flirty glances over the water-cooler with a colleague? Signing off your emails to each other with a cheeky “xo” on the end? Sneaking out to coffee breaks together?

The office – you spend most of your waking life there. Australians, in particular, are at work an average 1855 hours a year. [...]

mX Column: Dating Games

Out with a group of girlfriends the other night, one sidled up to me when we were touching up our gloss in the bathroom.
“I just sent a text to my ex,” she confided.
“Do you think that was a mistake?”
Not just once. It turns out she had sent him two messages. Once to [...]

mX Column: Starting Over at 28

My friend, Y, has a problem. She has just broken up with her boyfriend of six years.
It’s a massive change, but she has coped remarkably well with the separation, and has re-established herself as an independent woman – new house, new job, new outlook on life.
Now, after months of painful healing, her ex [...]

mX Column: Man-Hot vs. Girl-Hot

It’s all about new-season fashion as we hit the shops, inspired by last week’s L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival – but how much of what we see walking the runways during the shows will show up in our own wardrobes? And what will the men think of it all?

I’m wearing a dress today that I [...]

mX Column: The Age of the Bromance

I think my husband may be having an affair.
G. – the object of his affection – is tall, good-looking, and also happens to be our next door neighbour.
They see each other every day. They are members of the same gym, take frequent coffee breaks and if they can’t be in the same room [...]

mX Column: Lessons from Marriage

It’s my first wedding anniversary today. I can hardly believe a year has flown by, but at the same time it seems almost a lifetime ago.
I’m acutely aware that each anniversary is cause for celebration – particularly when statistically speaking, there’s at least a 40% chance that any given couple may not stay married forever.
What [...]

mX Column: Money Matters

It’s the last few days now of Febusave. More frightening than Febfast (cutting out alcohol), Febusave is an initiative set up by the ANZ Bank to encourage women to pay better attention to their finances. I rallied, and decided it was time I started taking an active role in looking after my own financial situation. [...]

mX Column: Hand-in-hand

Nothing melts the heart quite like watching an elderly couple walking along hand-in-hand together.
I saw an octogenarian couple crossing Swanston Street the other day. They didn’t even look as though they could negotiate the street without one another. The husband had a walking stick, the wife a hunched back. They were clinging to each [...]

mX Column: The Rise of the Cougar

It might be the Year of the Tiger but another big cat is on the prowl.
Demi started it. Then Samantha fell for Smith and we all fell right along with her. Now Susan Sarandon has broken all records by reportedly dating a 31-year-old man that her son introduced her to. She’s 63.
However much [...]

mX Column: Blind Dates? Bad News.

Despite the Austen-like images my moniker may conjure, I’m not much of a matchmaker.
I don’t believe in the ‘set up’, and especially not since one of my best friends, N. sent me on a blind date.
On paper, it should have worked perfectly.
He was cute, fun and intelligent, as promised. He even had just [...]

mX Column: The Problem with Valentine’s Day

For our out-of-town readers: mX is a free newspaper available in the Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane CBD at the end of the day, giving 700,000-odd people something to read on their commute home on trains, trams and buses. mX covers the issues that matter most in a concise, upbeat, funky, intelligent and sexy way.
Our very [...]