Love, Sex & Relationships | Dating, Divorce

Love at 60

Are you ever too old for another great love?

Olivia Clement The idea of 'settling' has negative connotations. But, as we grow older, is it sensible to look for a stable partner rather than a passionate love affair?

Dangerous liaisons

Victoria Thompson Victoria Thompson played with fire when she began an affair with her therapist.

Moving in

Living alone, I learned to be happy single. So why move in with my boyfriend?

Daniela Petrova "This apartment is where I learned I don't need a man to be happy," writes Daniela Petrova.

Jenna Price

What it's like to stay with one person for three decades

Jenna Price Jenna Price on what she's learned from 33 years of marriage.

Break-ups

Learning to love what you thought you lost in a breakup

Penelope Wilson When you break up with someone, there's a lot you have to learn to let go of - but there's also a lot you have to take back, writes Penelope Wilson.

Friend dating

Why are so many friends commitment-phobes?

Eva Harder Here are a few trajectories Eva Harder's promising friendships have followed.

The people-pleasing trap

Antonia Hoyle Do you so want to be liked you'll say "Yes" to (almost) anything? Was that a "Yes" we heard? If so, it's time to break the habit and put yourself first.

The awkward politics of wedding invites

Miran Hosny "Genuine invitations aside, a good portion of guests are asked along to avoid causing offence."

Dating 'advice'

Eight places women should forget about going to 'meet men'

Clem Bastow Single women who are actively 'looking' are inevitably directed to certain locations to 'find' someone.

Love on the spectrum

How autism brought one couple together

Lisa Bonos Like all couples, Dave Hamrick and Lindsey Nebeker have to work on their relationship. But they're also proof that being 'on the spectrum' needn't get in the way of love.

Fast love

The under-appreciated value of short term relationships

Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen It's possible to feel more in a few months with one person than in a few years with someone else. So why do we judge relationships by their length?

Date the Nerd

Why telling women to date nerds is misguided

Stacia L. Brown "I'm just really sick of "nerds" still being set forth as idealised relationship partners."

Old friends

The irreplaceable bond of decade-long friendships

Fiona Gibson Author Fiona Gibson has found her mates from 30 years ago are the ones she can always turn to.

Real life dating

What I learnt from three months without dating apps

Lisa Bonos "My app hiatus was a much-needed break, but not everything about it was wonderful."

Sex education

Five ways sex ed failed to prepare me for life

Penelope Wilson A list of things Penelope Wilson wishes she didn't have to learn by experience.

Relationships

Why I'd rather be an option than a priority

Suzannah Weiss Why Suzannah Weiss is happy not to be the most important person or thing in her date's life.

Why can't we recognise my aunt's lifelong love?

Monique Farmer The section of my aunt's death registration, asking for her partner's name and other details, was left sadly blank. As if she'd never loved or been loved.

Third wheel

Five reasons I love being the third wheel

Elizabeth King Some of my healthiest and most satisfying relationships are with couples, writes Elizabeth King.

Holiday blues

Singles, want to know how to survive the holidays?

Vicki Larson ... Stop reading survival tips.

The 'kids' talk

Does online dating make the 'kids' talk easier?

Suzannah Weiss Dating profiles allow us to be upfront about issues that may be deal-breakers down the track.

'There's nothing wrong with me, I'm just asexual'

Robin Dibben In an increasingly sexualised world, what is it like 'coming out' as someone who has no interest in sex?

Life & Love

Adults with disabilities have a right to intimacy too

Chris Serres Adults with disabilities must overcome constant barriers to pursue a fundamental human right – loving relationships.

Heteronormativity

What straight couples can learn from how LGBTI people have sex

Olivia Clement An interesting perspective from two trans people on the way a lot of us are having sex – and having orgasms.

Ball-and-chain

The irony of calling women balls-and-chains

Natasha Monday The concept of women as men's captors is bizarre because, unlike women, few men are actually forced into marriages.

You shouldn't need to choose between your children and partner

Andie Fox Literary couple Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon open up about the very real impact of children on marriage.

Marriage health

The number that measures the health of a marriage

Jenna Price A new study takes us one step closer to discovering which marriages make us sick.

Are sex robots really a 'commercial inevitability'?

Tracey Spicer A future in which 'sex dolls with feelings' will have complex moral, legal and social ramifications.

Grief & Loss

The second loss of getting rid of a loved one's things

Lesley Garner Nothing prepares you for the emotional force of the things people leave behind when they die, says Lesley Garner.

Are men only attracted to smart women in theory?

Natalie Reilly Let's call it the "Stay in Your Lane" theory of the fragile male ego.

Gay PDA

The double standard on displays of gay affection

Steven Petrow For same-sex couples, even a simple kiss may be viewed as provocative or flaunting.

Textual relations

Are our archived conversations causing us unnecessary heartache?

Clem Bastow Clem Bastow is familiar with the awkwardness of revisiting on painful old texts.

Why don't some men realise it's over until it's too late?

Natalie Reilly "Men hope [the problem] will go away, while women get fed up with the lack of emotional connection and simply cut the knot."

Dom's married

Ten things that happened at my wedding in India

Dom Knight "I can promise no more mopey columns about being single. From now on, I'm going to be one of those infuriating smug marrieds," writes Dom Knight.

Funny girls

Why aren't women allowed to be funny on dates?

Natalie Reilly A new study reveals the different dating outcomes for funny men v funny women.

Clem Bastow

Why do we still care so much about 'meeting the parents'?

Clem Bastow "It's 2015; surely we can judge a relationship's seriousness (or lack thereof) independently of whether our partner has met our parents yet?"

Why race is not a sexual preference

Maxine Tuyau It may feel like our attractions are inherent, but in reality our desires are influenced heavily by the world we grew up in.

Body Image

Why I stopped asking partners to validate my body

Suzannah Weiss It took a fight with her boyfriend for Suzannah Weiss to realise she couldn't rely on others to tell her what she wanted to hear.

Friend dates

When you know you've reached your friend limit

Lisa Bonos Being a friend-collector means that you also need to know when to stop.

Just a tic

I have Tourette's and my partner didn't know about it

Brian Conaghan A master at concealing the twitches, tics and grunts, Brian Conaghan even fooled his wife.

Smugly married

How to avoid becoming a smugly married friend

Sara Eckel When I was single, smug married people drove me nuts. Then I became one.

What I know about men

Jane Rocca Stylist and designer Rachel Zoe reflects on her relationships with the important men in her life.

When your sex life doesn't follow the script

Rachel Hills I was not religious, and I knew I wasn't a "loser," but I nonetheless felt horribly ashamed of the fact that I wasn't sexually active.

Compatibility

The tiny thing that predicts the success of any relationship

Natalie Reilly A new study contains the answer to the question of the ages: what makes love last?

How many close friends do we truly need?

Neha Kale Turns out numbers can't quantify the forces that galvanise our closest friendships.

Sexual intimacy

Why sex is better in your 40s

Samantha Evans Samantha Evans tells why sex is better now, at 47, than when she was in her 20s.

A life more ordinary

Kathleen Burns Kathleen Burns remembers the day she married her long-time girlfriend.

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

When will we start celebrating divorce?

Andie Fox "As someone who didn't make it last, I find it increasingly odd that a marriage can be celebrated simply for enduring."

Are we too forgiving of the men who cheat?

Natalie Reilly When a man cheats, the media looks at the wife. Was she boring? Was she a nag? Was she a bitch?

Wedding season

I went to 11 weddings this year

Jessica Salter $13,000 later, here is what I learnt.

Internet porn

What kind of porn do women like to watch?

Clem Bastow Newsflash: women dig porn, too.

No Means No

Why consent must be taught in black and white terms

Nelly Thomas I know from experience that, when it comes to sex education, it's best to avoid grey areas.

Online dating

Does online dating make us more promiscuous?

Caitlin Dewey Another day, another moral panic over The Kids and their "hook-up culture".

The cost of waiting

The price my family paid while marriage equality stalled

Ali Benton I was always looking forward to celebrating marriage equality with my sister. I imagined saying to her "thanks Gis, your struggle has been worth it."